Fallout 3: Twins Wandering
by jukehero461
Summary: A pair of twins roaming the Vault and the Wastes, for the good of all. MY first story, not sure if I will continue updating, but rate and review as much as you like.
1. Chapter 1

This story is based on Fallout 3. Two characters, the twins Danny and Morgan. I have neither the patience nor the inclination to copy down the conversations word for word, but I can get personalities and generalities right.

Ch 1

"Well, this is turning out bad."

Danny sighed. He and his twin were fast friends, and at ten years old they both were quite a team. But he found himself questioning, and not for the first time, whether or not he was actually related to the maniac he was currently standing with in a contracting ring of about seven radroaches. Morgan had brought him down here to this abandoned Vault level to look for old parts to scavenge, so he could use them in some "project" he had been working on.

And now they were in a circle of carnivorous bugs with two kitchen knives as weapons.

"However, I think we can get out of this by resorting to classic military tactics!" Morgan continued.

"Such as?"

"RUN LIKE HELL!"

Morgan ran to the edge of the circle and leapt, none too gracefully, to the other edge of the ring, stumbling as he tried to keep running through the abandoned tunnel.

Danny groaned. "You are not making any friends here!" He leapt with a little more dexterity, rolling as he hit the ground and coming up running.

Morgan ignored him and kept running, rounding a corner with great speed…

Which is when he tripped over something and ended up in a heap near the wall.

"Well, despite that amazing turn of speed, you still have all the grace and charm as a sack of potatoes." Danny smirked, casually strolling around the corner.

"Why aren't you running? There's a swarm of roaches on our asses!" Morgan spat, straightening up.

"Use that brain of yours! They are slower than Butch at math, and they don't exactly have a high attention span either." Danny quipped back, grinning.

"Yeah, well… we should get moving, Dad said he wanted to meet us at the diner in an hour." Morgan was disappointed. There was so little extra scrap in the vault, finding anything he could use was damned-near impossible.

"How'd ya' end up against the wall, anyway?"

"Oh, I tripped over…" Morgan's eyes widened. The object he had tripped over was a fission battery, somehow left behind down here.

"Jackpot! See, I told you we'd find sumthin'cool!"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Morgan, there are tons of those up top. Why didn't you just swipe one of em!"

"Because ever since Officer Gomez found the stash of junk I hid, any tech that goes missing makes me a prime suspect! But this ain't theirs, so I'm clean!"

Danny looked over both of them. They were covered in radroach guts and grime from their little trek. "Clean doesn't really describe us right now… we'd better change before we head to the diner."

Morgan looked himself over. "You may have a point there… I'll stash this under my bed for the time being."

"How fiendishly clever! The first and last place anyone would look for it!"

"Shut up an' get movin'"


	2. Chapter 2: Birthday

Ch2

They padded back to their room, quietly changing and washing away the evidence of their exploits. Satisfied they were now free of any guilty markings, they hurried over to the diner.

Which was completely dark.

"Hey, what gives? The place is shut down!" Morgan exclaimed.

"Can't be, it's too early."

"Look!"

"Well, door is still open, let's head in and wait for Dad."

They stepped into the room and were immediately blinded by a bright flash as the lights came on.

"Jeez Andy, you turned the lights on too fast! You blinded the poor kid!"

The pair blinked their way back to sight.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

The twins looked at each other, stunned. They were expecting some sort of quiet gift, not a big party!

"Look at you two." They whirled around to face their father. He was wearing his regular lab coat, his smile making his whole face look younger than his graying hair said he was.

"Ten years old already. If only your mother were here, she would be—"

"There you are, you two ruffians! I don't have to tell you how special a day this is!" It was Overseer Almodovar, leader of the vault and a source of endless annoyance to the twins. Well, to Morgan anyway. Whose complaining got on Danny's nerves.

"Down here in Vault 101, when you turn ten, well, you are ready to take on your first responsibilities. So…" He took out a pair of items from behind his back. "I present to you boys your very own Pipboy 3000s. Wear them well." The twins were ecstatic! Pipboys were awesome gadgets, and could help out with nearly any task! "You'll be getting your first work assignment tomorrow, boys." The Overseer continued. "Good luck." He wandered off, chuckling at their now-horrified faces.

Their dad smiled."Enjoy your party, boys! You're only ten once, so have fun!"

They grinned and started walking around the diner, immediately running into Amata, the Overseer's daughter.

"Hi guys! We really surprised you, didn't we?" She grinned with pride.

"Nah, we knew the whole time, we just didn't want to spoil the surprise." Morgan lied. Danny shot him an annoyed look.

"Yeah right! Ah well, I suppose you won't be wanting your surprise gift then…"

"What gift? What is it?"

"Guess!"

"Ummm… a date with Christine Kendall?" Morgan asked.

Both Danny and Amata gave him a surprised look. "Ewww, gross! I didn't even know you liked girls!" Amata squealed, disgusted.

"I'm sorry for Tweedle-Dum here, Amata. What'd you get us?"

She brightened immediately. "Check it out! I found it with some of my father's old stuff!" She produced an old Grognak the Barbarian, Issue number 14.

"Awesome! That leaves only 16 and 20 before we get them all!" Danny exclaimed.

"Thanks Amata!"

"No problem!" She ran off to talk with some of the other guests.

"So far, this is pretty awesome!" Morgan said, grinning like a loon.

"Hate to rain on your parade, but look over there…"

Sitting in a booth on the far side of the room was Butch DeLoria, resident bully of the Vault, along with Wally Mack, his friend, for want of a better word.

"Oh great…" Morgan frowned. "Who invited him?"

"Not worth askin', as he's here now…" Danny sighed. He didn't really care about Butch all that much, but he and Morgan always butted heads when they started talking, which generally ended in a fistfight.

"Uhhh…" a voice from behind them started.

They whirled around to see Paul Hannon, son of the security chief. "Uhhh… thanks for inviting me to this party and all…" He seemed unsure of what to say to the pair.

"Uhhhh… I'm sorry for how Butch and I mess with you, we don't really mean it… Anyway, thanks." He scampered off to Butch's booth, who began harassing him about speaking to the pair.

"You know he ain't too bad…" Danny started.

"But then he hangs out with the human-shaped Radroaches there." Morgan finished. "Meh…"

"Hey kids! How ya doing?" It was Stanley, one of the Vault mechanics. "How do you like the Pipboys?" He grinned, guessing the answer.

"They're great Stanley!" Morgan beamed, waving it in front of Stanley.

"Did you fix them up for us?" Danny asked,

"As a matter of fact, yes. Almost didn't finish though." He stared at Morgan. "Because for some reason I found my toolbox missing early this morning. I made do with what I had though. Any idea where it could be?" He glared at Morgan.

"Beats me, Stanley. Bet you'll find it back in your workshop before you know it though!" Morgan smiled, trying to look innocent and not quite succeeding.

Stanley smirked. "I certainly hope so. Oh, I got something else for you two." He brought out an old pair of baseball caps. "These used to belong to me and my brother. We were a lot like you two, actually."

"I doubt that." said Danny, casting a sidelong look at Morgan, who just shrugged.

"Well, enjoy your party!"

After thanking Stanley, they wandered off and talked with some of the other guests, though Morgan avoided Officer Gomez, muttering something about unfair confiscation. They stopped at Mrs. Palmer's table, who talking to the Overseer.

"Hello you two! My, how fast you've grown! Reminds me of myself at that age…" She sighed happily, not noticing Morgan rolling his eyes, and Danny elbowing him for it. "Anyway, I have something for you two!"

"Oh, you didn't have to get us a gift, Mrs. Palmer." Danny offered. Morgan shot him a nasty look.

"Fiddlesticks! What 10-year old doesn't like presents?" She pulled out a small tray. On top were two heavily iced sweetrolls. The boys salivated just looking at them.

"One for each of you! Happy birthday!" She gave them a big grin.

"Thanks Mrs. Palmer!" Danny smiled back. Morgan was too busy gobbling down the roll to answer.

"Seriously, where did you learn to eat like that?" said Danny, glaring at his brother as they moved away.

"I am half-radroach, you always say." replied Morgan.

"That's because of how you keep your room."

"Oh come on! At least I don't obsessively organize my socks!"

"Greased pig!"

"Clean freak!"

"Attention everyone, it's time to cut the cake!"

Morgan and Danny turned around in time to see their friendly robot Andy attempt to cut the cake.

With a buzzsaw.

It made quite a mess.

Those who were at the bar, including their Dad and Stanley, got the worst of it, with icing splattered over their faces.

The twins cracked up, they couldn't help it, it looked like Stanley had a big white beard and dad all of the sudden had very fluffy eyebrows.

"Awww man, why…. why didn't anyone bring a camera?" Morgan spluttered, barely able to get his breath.

"With that kind of luck, it'd be covered in frosting too!" Danny crowed, and that set them off again.

They subsided after a minute, with a lot of the grown-ups smiling too. The twins grinned at each other, this was a great party.

And then…

"I'm hungry, and that stupid robot destroyed the cake!" growled an all too familiar, whiny voice.

Danny sighed and turned around to face Butch. "So?"

"So gimme that sweetroll Mrs. Palmer gave you!" Butch demanded.

"Yeah, you tell em' Butch!" Wally Mack egged from behind him.

"Oh for the love of…" Morgan began, taking a step toward Butch.

Danny rolled his eyes and put an arm between Morgan and Butch. "Look Butch, we'll share, alright? Half for me and half for you." Morgan stared at his brother, his jaw hanging open.

"Sharing! What do you think this is, kindergarten? I want it all!" Butch demanded, clenching his fists.

Danny sighed. "Look, Butch…"

"Go soak your head Butch!" Morgan cried. "He's not giving you his sweetroll!"

Danny sighed. It had been going better than usual…

"Oh yeah! We'll see about that!" Butch shouted, rising up from the booth. Wally Mack climbed out from the back too, and Paul just sat back, looking confused.

Mack tackled Morgan, both of them going down in a flurry of blows.

"Well, crap." Danny turned to Butch. "Look Butch, do we gotta-"

He dodged as Butch lunged at him, missing and sending him sprawling into the bar.

"Butch, now I know-" Danny began again, interrupted as he had to dodge a clumsy swing.

"Butch-" Another clumsy shot.

Danny groaned, put his sweetroll on top of the bar, and grabbed Butch by the arm.

"WILL YOU QUIT IT!" Danny shouted, tripping Butch and leaving him sprawling on the floor.

"All right, knock it off! Break it up, all of you!" Officer Gomez shouted as he tried, with limited success, to pry apart Morgan and Wally, who each had a firm grip on the other's limbs with their teeth.

"Morgan! Fight's over, we won." Danny shouted over, halfheartedly. He looked back at Butch, who was looking up at him with hate in his eyes. He sighed, wondering what the big problem was. Can't they all just get along? Well, at least not attempt to kill each other, yes?

"Heck yeah we won!" Morgan crowed standing up. He had a black eye, and a few bruises. Wally was looking pretty similar. They both eyed each other warily.

"Now that's enough out of all of you! Because it's a party, I'll overlook it, but if this happens again, you will all be in big trouble!"

"Yes, Officer Gomez." They all droned. They knew this wasn't the first fight, and it certainly wasn't going to be the last.

Amata came over. "Are you guys okay? What happened?"

Morgan cut in before Danny could reply. "He tried to take Danny's sweetroll. I told him to soak his head. Too bad Gomez stopped me before I could _really_ get Wally!"

Amata looked at all of Morgan's new bruises. "Riiiiiight…."

Danny looked from his sweetroll to Butch, who was getting back into his booth.

"Hey Butch, catch!"

Butch looked up and barely caught the sweetroll. He gave Danny a look of triumph and started chowing down.

"Danny!" Amata cried.

"Why'd you do that?" Morgan asked, amazement and a little anger on his face. "He lost!"

"So? It's just a sweetroll. And he was hungry." He looked back to Butch, who had a big grin on his face, and smiled. Just a little.

Morgan rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Hope the prick enjoys it."

Amata looked like she was about to say something, but Dad came over. "Just talked to Jonas on the intercom. We've got a surprise for you two down in the reactor level."

"Cool! See you later Amata!" Morgan said, dragging his brother out of the diner with him.

Amata shook her head. "Boys…"

Morgan rounded the corner and nearly ran into Butch's mom.

"Oh! Hello there little boys! I was just coming over to your party!" She had a big, glassy grin on, and she was a little off balance.

"Hi Miss DeLoria." Danny said politely.

"Hey." Morgan nearly spat.

The woman didn't notice. "I wrote you two a birthday poem! " She handed over a stained piece of paper. "Happy birthday!"

"Thank you, Miss DeLoria."

"Is that all?" Morgan seemed disappointed.

"Of course, silly! Now run along!" She walked, a little unsteadily, toward the diner.

"What's up with her?" Morgan asked.

"She's drunk." Danny deadpanned.

"What!" Morgan was shocked.

"Yep. Wonder why Butch is always thin and hungry a lot of the time? She drinks up the ration allowance."

"Wow… that sucks. No wonder he's so angry."

"Yeah… poem's kinda' morbid too."

"Lemme see…" Morgan looked it over. "Err… that's a bit creepy."

"Yep."

They continued down to the reactor, where Jonas looked up from a cluttered workbench.

"What're you doing here, young men? Kids aren't allowed down in the reactor level." He said severely.

"Oh… but dad said we could come down here." Danny said, uncertain.

"And we're not kids! We're ten years old!" Morgan pronounced proudly.

"Heheh, you sure are. Let's wait for your dad; he wants to show you the surprise too."

"No need, I'm here." Their dad walked though the door, holding something behind his back. "You ready for your surprise?"

They both nodded excitedly.

He smiled. "Well here you are!" He pulled out an old BB gun from behind his back.

"Woah! Where'd you get that dad?" exclaimed Morgan.

"We found it down here one day when we were checking the reactor. It was pretty battered though, and took a while to repair. Do you have any idea how hard it was to find a spring that small?" He smiled. "It's lucky that Butch "misplaced" that switchblade of his!" He handed the gun to Morgan. "Now follow me."

He walked through a door on the opposite end of the hall, revealing a long shooting range, with three revolving targets at the far end.

"So? What do you think? You can come down here to shoot anytime you like."

"This is great Dad! Thanks!" Morgan was nearly going to explode with joy.

Danny turned to Jonas. "Did you fix this up Jonas?"

"Yeah, I did. Thought you two would have a lot of fun with it. Now come on! Let me see you shoot!"

Morgan took first crack, nailing all three targets in rapid succession.

"Nice!"

Danny tried, but it took him longer to line up the shots, and he missed once.

"I may just stick with punching, if it's all the same to you."

After a few more hits, two radroaches came scurrying into the range.

"Careful!" Dad warned. "They got a nasty bite. Why don't you try to shoot them?"

"Cool!" Morgan immediately sighted up and fired, nailing the first.

"My turn! My turn!" Danny shouted, grabbing the gun and attempting to hit the radroach. It took him four shots to do it.

"Your aim is as bad as Wally's punches!" Morgan crowed.

"Yeah yeah, from the looks of you that isn't a bad thing." Danny shot back.

"Well done you two! That's two less radroaches to worry about. Hey Jonas, get a picture of me with the big game hunters here."

They stood in a line, Dad on the right, Morgan in the middle, and Danny on the left, both twins with a grip on the gun.

"Smile!" Jonas said. Then the world turned white…


	3. Chapter 3: Classroom Calamity

Ch 3

SIX YEARS LATER

Danny watched with amusement as Morgan sat on the examination bench, being looked at by Dad.

"As far as I can tell, you are a perfectly healthy sixteen-year old boy. So yes, you have to go to class and take your G.O.A.T exam." He stated, putting down his stethoscope. "Now go on, you have a G.O.A.T to take!"

"But I am sick! Really! *cough*" Morgan flailed.

Over in the corner, Danny snorted.

"Come on, it's not that bad and everyone has to take it. It determines your future job in the Vault."

"If you say so Dad." Morgan walked out of the room, dejected.

"Told you it wouldn't work." Danny walked out behind him, smiling.

"Shut up."

The classroom was right around the corner. They were about to enter when…

"Get away from me!"

They looked to the side. Amata was being 'menaced' by the Vault's resident hoodlums, the Tunnel Snakes.

"Goddamn Tunnel Snakes!"

"I can show you a real Tunnel Snake, Amata!" Butch said, smiling like a fool.

"Yeah, show her Butch!" Wally Mack egged on.

Danny walked over, frowning. "What's going on?"

"None of your damn business! Move on!" Butch snarled at the approaching pair.

"Amata?"

"Damned Tunnel Snakes! Immature assholes, if you ask me!" Amata snapped.

Morgan had walked over and was tensing for a fight.

"Look, Butch, she is the Overseer's daughter. She, above all others, is not getting special treatment. And if you keep pushing her around, the Overseer is gonna come down on your gang. Hard." Danny warned. He knew the gang got in trouble a lot, but for some reason they never had really been broken up.

"Yeah, I guess so…" Butch turned to the rest of the gang. "Come on guys! This little bitch ain't worth our time anyways!"

"Hold up. One more thing." Danny said, pushing forward.

Butch turned around in annoyance. "What?"

"Apologize to Amata."

"WHAT! Look at the little angel boy right here fellas! And why should I do that?" Butch retorted, laughing.

"Cuz' if you don't, then we're gonna have a little problem." Morgan said, stepping up next to his brother with crossed arms.

"Oh yeah? Come on guys, let's show em' that Tunnel Snakes rule!" Butch cried, laying into Danny.

Danny turned to the side and let Butch stumble past, then looked to Morgan. "I got Butchie, you want the other two cretins?"

"Yeah."

"Good." He turned to Butch. "Alright, Mister DeLoria, class is in session."

The fight lasted about two minutes, and was rather one sided. By the end, Paul Hannon and Wally Mack were groaning on the floor with Morgan standing over them, and Danny had Butch in a headlock with his arm at an uncomfortable position.

"Say it." Danny hissed.

"Alright!" He looked at Amata. "I… I'm sorry for how I acted Miss Almodovar. I was out of line and extremely rude."

Amata stood there, a little amazed at what she had just heard.

Danny released him. "Now was that so hard?" he smirked. He hadn't gotten a scratch, and Butch looked like a train wreck.

"You'll get yours, asshole. Come on guys, we gotta get to class." Butch and company limped off, looking like a walking advertisement for health insurance.

Morgan walked up. He had a split lip, some bruises, and a black eye, but he didn't seem to mind too much. "That was fun. What was that move where you did the roundhouse kick to Butch's chest?"

"A little something I made up. Got the idea from that Pugilism Illustrated book. Nice touch, smacking their heads together like that near the end. A classic move!"

They laughed and high-fived.

"Um…"

They looked to Amata. "You all right?"

"Yeah I'm fine, thanks for getting rid of them. Assholes." she said, with feeling. "Um, how'd you learn to do all that?"

"We have practiced extensively." Morgan said.

"On each other." added Danny.

"And Butch."

"And that one old sofa we found down below…"

"Alright! I get the point." Amata shook her head. "I was wondering… could… could you show me some of those moves? You may not be around next time and, well…"

"Absolutely! We'd be happy to help!" exclaimed Danny.

"Really? You would?" Amata grinned.

"On one condition however." Morgan piped up.

Amata's smile faded. "What?" She said warily.

Danny shot a questioning look at his brother.

"You go on a date with each of us." said Morgan, a huge grin on his face.

"Wha-? Err. Um…." Amata looked flustered.

"Don't worry, just think about it! At the worst, you go through two bad dates and you can say you have the skills to kick Butch's ass!"

"Ermmm…." Amata was kind of dazed at this point.

"But don't worry, we can wait for the answer! Enjoy the G.O.A.T!" Morgan smiled, ushering Amata toward the classroom.

She was still looking flustered when she sat down.

"What'd you do that for?" Danny demanded.

"Relax! First, the look on her face was priceless." Morgan chuckled, "Second, you've had a crush on her for a while now. Don't try to deny it, you mumble in your sleep. Third, after a date with me, the Master of smartassery, you will look like a saint. Fourth, you will be able to do unarmed training with her. In close-quarters." He winked. "Finally, when she is done training, I will enjoy every minute of watching her kick the collective asses of the Tunnel Snakes. There is no downside!"

Danny looked at his brother. His mouth opened and shut a few times. "You are such a bastard." He said eventually.

"A genius bastard!"

"How do you know she'll even accept?"

"She wants to learn to defend herself! And she has a crush on you." Morgan added, swiftly stepping into the classroom.

"What! No she doesn't… Does she?" Danny was fast becoming as flustered as Amata.

Morgan grinned as he walked into the classroom.

And stopped cold as he realized he still had to take the G.O.A.T.

"Ah, hello you two. We're ready to start. So if you'll just take your seats…" Mr. Brotch droned, strolling up to the pair.

"Oh… I'm feeling bad, Mr. Brotch. Guess I'll have to reschedule…"

Brotch gave Morgan a look. "Didn't work on your dad either, huh?"

Morgan hesitated. Then, dejectedly, "No…"

Brotch put a hand on his shoulder. "Listen, Morgan. Do you know what you want to do for a living?"

"Not really. I mean, I like repairing stuff and shooting… I'm also good with computers and science."

"Look, if you take the G.O.A.T., I'll make sure you land in the job that's best for you, okay?"

Morgan looked up. "Really?"

"Between you and me, the test is crap, but they take it seriously. I thought so too at your age, and look where I ended up." He smirked. "But it does help identify where you would be best. So if you let me take a look, I'll do my best to help you out."

"Wow, thanks Mr. Brotch!" Morgan hurried over to his seat.

"That was awful nice of you, Mr. B." Danny said, walking over.

"He's smart, he just doesn't know it. Same offer extends to you, but I think you'll be fine." Mr. Brotch walked to the front of the room.

"Alright settle down, everyone take your seats. Now today you'll take the infamous Generalized Occupational Aptitude Test, or G.O.A.T. Heads down, keep your eyes and hands to yourself!"

Butch sniggered.

"Yes, I am talking to _you_, Mr. DeLoria!"

"Sure thing, Mr. Brotch." Butch replied, a smirk still on his face.

"Just listen to the questions, mark your answers, and turn them in when you are done. You do NOT want to know what happens to people who _fail_ the G.O.A.T."

'Well here we go.' thought the twins.


	4. Chapter 4: The GOAT

Ch4

Question 1

You are approached by a frenzied Vault scientist, who yells, "I'm going to put my quantum harmonizer in your photonic resonation chamber!" What's your response?

"But doctor, wouldn't that cause a parabolic destabilization of the fission singularity?"

"Yeah? Up yours too, buddy!"

Say nothing, but grab a nearby pipe and hit the scientist in the head to knock him out. For all you knew, he was planning to blow up the vault.

Say nothing, but slip away before the scientist can continue his rant.

"_I was afraid of THIS!"_ thought Morgan. He answered A.

"_What in the nine hells…" _thought Danny. "_quantum… but… I don't know…"_ He answered C.

Question 2

While working as an intern in the Clinic, a patient with a strange infection on his foot stumbles through the door. The infection is spreading at an alarming rate, but the doctor has stepped out for a while. What do you do?

Amputate the foot before the infection spreads

Scream for help

Medicate the infected area to the best of your abilities

Restrain the patient, and merely observe as the infection spreads

"_Hmmmm… odd. I would want to see how the infection works. And I'm no medic." _Morgan put down D.

"_I would try to help him. At least attempt to slow the spread."_ Danny answered C.

Question 3

You discover a young boy lost in the lower levels of the Vault. He's hungry and frightened, but also appears to be in possession of stolen property. What do you do?

Give the boy a hug and tell him everything will be OK

Confiscate the property by force, and leave him there as punishment

Pick the boy's pocket to take the stolen property for yourself, and leave the boy to his fate

Lead the boy to safety, then turn him over to the overseer

"_Well, I want to help him, but he's gotta answer for his crime." _Morgan put down D.

"_Awww, poor little guy."_ Danny put down A.

Question 4

Congratulations! You made one of the Vault 101 baseball teams! Which position do you prefer?

Pitcher

Catcher

Designated Hitter

None, you wish the vault had a soccer team

"_Kinda like a firing range to me." _Morgan, A.

"_It's as if they read my mind." _Danny, D.

Question 5

Your grandmother invites you to tea, but you're surprised when she gives you a pistol and orders you to kill another Vault resident. What do you do?

Obey your elder and kill the Vault resident with the pistol.

Offer your most prized possession for the resident's life.

Ask granny for a minigun instead. After all, you don't want to miss.

Throw your tea in granny's face.

"_What the hell?"_

"_What the hell!"_

"_This can't be serious… but if I had to answer..."_

"_Who put this question on? I know what I'd do."_

Both brothers put down D.

Question 6

Old Mr. Abernathy has locked himself in his quarters again, and you've been ordered to get him out. How do you proceed?

Use a bobby pin to pick the lock on the door

Trade a Vault hoodlum for his cherry bomb and blow open the lock.

Go to the armory, retrieve a laser pistol, and blow the lock off.

Just walk away and let the old coot rot.

"_Okay… this is easier." _Morgan put C.

"_Finesse is the key." _Danny put A.

Question 7

Oh, no! You've been exposed to radiation, and a mutated hand has grown out of your stomach! What's the best course of treatment?

A bullet to the brain

Large doses of anti-mutagen agent

Prayer. Maybe God will spare you in exchange for a life of pious devotion.

Removal of the mutated tissue with a precision laser

"_EUUUEEGGH!" _Morgan, A.

"_Honestly, that much radiation and I should be cooked. But…" _Danny, B.

Question 8

A fellow Vault 101 resident is in possession of a Grognak the Barbarian comic book, issue number 1. You want it. What's the best way to obtain it?

Trade the comic book for one of your own valuable possessions

Steal the comic book at gunpoint

Sneak into the resident's quarters, and steal the comic book from his desk

Slip some knock out drops into the resident's Nuka-Cola, and take the comic book when he's unconscious.

"_Meh, already have it." _Morgan, B. Danny, C.

Question 9

You decide it would be fun to play a prank on your father. You enter his private restroom when no one is looking, and...

Loosen some bolts on some pipes. When the sink is turned on, the room will flood.

Put a firecracker in the toilet. That's sure to cause some chaos.

Break into the locked medicine cabinet and replace his high blood pressure medication with sugar pills.

Manipulate the power wattage on his razor, so he'll get an electric shock next time he shaves.

"_Hehehe, a little flooding never hurt anyone." _Morgan chuckled as he put A.

"_May put some soot on him, but nothing he can't handle." _Danny laughed as he put down B.

Question 10

Mr. Brotch sighed, and continued in an obviously bored voice…

Who is indisputably the most important person in Vault 101: He who shelters us from the harshness of the atomic wasteland, and to whom we owe everything we have, including our lives?

The Overseer

The Overseer

The Overseer

The Overseer

"_Are you kidding? How much of an ego does this guy have?"_

Danny and Morgan looked at each other, grinned, and both wrote down:

_Grognak the Barbarian_.

"Alright, that's it! Finish filling in your answers and turn them in at the front." Mr. Brotch announced.

They had to wait behind Butch, but that was fine, since he was declared to be the Vault's new hairdresser! They tried to hold in their laughing until Butch was out of the room. They failed.

"Oh, that hurts. That really had to hurt." Morgan remarked.

"Ah, he's just a sensitive soul, he'll be alright." Danny answered, a look of happiness on his face.

"Don't laugh at him just yet, you don't know your results…" Mr. Brotch intoned, taking their sheets."

He looked at them, and at the answers, and at the guide for assigning their occupations.

He looked up at the both of them.

"Have a seat, because we need to discuss these in more detail."

The twins looked at each other, worried, but went and sat.

They sat through the rest of their classmates' evaluations. Paul Hannon, a few bruises notwithstanding, was slated for engineering. The twins nodded to him and he waved, a bit hesitantly, and moved out.

Wally Mack turned in his test and started walking out. "Hey don't you want to hear the results, Mr. Mack?" Brotch called after him. Wally spoke over his shoulder, "I figured out which answers I needed for my dream job. So forget personal preference." He walked out. "Well I'll be damned, that little so and so, wish I'd thought of that when I was sixteen." Brotch commented.

Amata, surprise surprise, was slated for Administration. She stopped on the way out, turned on her heel, and said "Deal." Then she walked out.

"Ha! Told you!" Morgan crowed to Danny.

"Yeah, well… we'll see." Danny muttered, uncertain.


	5. Chapter 5: Job Review

Ch5

Mr. Brotch walked over after everyone had left.

"Alright, I called you back here for a few reasons. First, both of you scored some high-ranking jobs, so congratulations."

The twins beamed.

"However."

The smiles vanished.

"What were you two thinking with this last one? Grognak!"

The twins looked a bit sheepish.

"Look, I hate that question too. But the Overseer takes a very dim view of that sort of thing. Just a warning. I'll change it."

"On to the good news. Morgan, you could land a job in security maybe, or you could help Stanley down in engineering. Also…"

"What?"

"Well, your answers and your past performances would make you a great Armory Maintenance man."

"Maintenance?" Morgan was stunned. "That's for dregs and losers!"

"No, no, no, Armory Maintenance is a great job. You would be the only non-security personnel to have access to weaponry. You would keep the weapons in repair, maintain the firing range, and so on."

"Oh… that's… really cool actually."

"Also, the armory is not particularly big, and we rarely use the weapons in any case, so you would have a good amount of free-time to help out Stanley or whoever you wished to."

"Well that's… awesome. I'm all for that."

"Alright, that's settled. Now, Danny…" He turned to the second twin. "At the moment, you have a similar situation. You are, according to the test, best suited to be our resident Little League Coach."

"Little League? But there's…" Danny grinned, realization dawning. "But we have too few kids, don't we."

"Bingo. According to the B.R.O.T.C.H. exam, you are good at reasoning and fighting unarmed, of all things. You are also good at medicine, though you aren't quite as good as your father."

"Thanks, but where does that place me?"

"Personally? I would take the Little League job. You have access to wide open space, and, since no one uses it, and won't for a while, you can just be a jack-of-all-trades and help out whoever needs it."

"Sounds good! But won't the Overseer not like us having near-useless jobs?"

"Yeah, but if you guys actually help out around the place, then he probably will let it lie. After all," he smiled wanly. "you were _officially_ chosen."

The twins looked to each other. This seemed like a good arrangement.

"You got it, Mr. Brotch."

"Yeah, who knew you were so sneaky?"

"Comes with the territory."


	6. Chapter 6: The Good Life

Chapter 6

The Good Life

The next three years of life for the twins was great.

Morgan was extremely happy with his job, and kept the guns and munitions of the armory in immaculate condition. In his spare time he shot at the range they had for security personnel, and became a crack shot with most conventional guns.

He helped Stanley and Jonas in Engineering too, which was greatly appreciated, since Stanley had started to get chronic headaches.

He had also taken up computer programming to assist in repairs, and became notorious for his hacking ability, though nothing was ever proven.

Danny had a lot more free time than his brother, due to his obsolete job. He continued to exercise and took up a great interest in all forms of close-combat. He became proficient with the use of many improvised weapons, from kitchen knives to pool cues, and he continued to hone his unarmed abilities, mainly thorough brawls with the Tunnel Snakes. He and Amata had started to date soon after he started teaching her martial arts, and, due to the watchful eye of the Overseer, he developed a good talent for sneaking around the Vault to see her.

He also developed a silver tongue, which proved useful when his father had walked in on the two of them "training unarmed" in the locker room of the athletic complex.

They had it made.

Until…


	7. Chapter 7: WakeUp Call

Chapter 7

ESCAPE! Part 1.

"Hey come on! Wake up!"

The twins jerked awake. There were klaxons going off in the hall, lights flashing, and Amata had just barged into their room.

An interesting start.

"Come on get up! My father's men are looking for you!"

"Amata? What the hell…?" Morgan grumbled, struggling out of bed.

"Amata? Weird, I was just dreaming about you…" Danny grinned, lifting himself from the bed.

"Not the time!" Amata growled, blushing deeply. "My father's men are looking for you two!"

"What? Why?" Morgan asked, still somewhat adrift.

"What's happened?" Danny added, also lost.

"Your father left the Vault!"

The twins' jaws dropped.

"_WHAT THE HELL!"_ they exclaimed, totally lost now.

"_Listen! _Earlier this morning, there was this huge explosion from your dad's lab. There was a huge panic, and radroaches started flooding in. Then… somehow, your dad escaped!"

The twins made to talk, but Amata kept going.

"My father's gone crazy! There have been deaths, and…"

She looked down, tears in her eyes.

"Jonas is dead, Officer Mack killed him."

"What! Why? What did he do!" Morgan demanded, getting in Amata's face.

"I don't know!" Amata squeaked, backing away. "He helped your dad somehow, but they just killed him!"

"Easy, Morgan! It's not her fault!" Danny said, rushing to Amata's side.

Morgan's rage subsided. He just felt… crushed. He and Jonas had spent nearly as much time together as him and Danny…

"Look, I know you are upset, but you two have got to get out of here!" Amata looked worried. "I got a plan to get you out."

"Not another one of your 'plans', Amata!" Morgan groaned.

"_Listen!_ There's a secret tunnel to the entrance in my father's office. You'll need a key-"

"No we won't, I've picked that lock before." Danny interjected.

"What? When?"

"When your father came home early after we… you know… I couldn't leave through the front door, so I hid in his office until he left." Danny turned crimson, and so did Amata. Morgan looked on, amused.

"Well… um… you'll still need to… um, get the password for his computer…"

"Nah, we're okay. I can hack that thing easy, if it's standard issue." Morgan interrupted, still smiling.

"Oh… okay. Well, good luck, I'll try to meet you at the entrance. Don't wait up for me."

She pulled a pistol from where she had left it outside the room.

"Here, it's my father's. You may need it."

"Are you sure? You have more use for it than us." Danny pointed out.

"I'll be fine, I can take on radroaches fine, thanks to you."

"I'll take it. I'll use it only as a last resort, I promise." Morgan said, holstering it on his side."

"Good luck you two."

With a quick kiss to Danny, she ran out of the room.

The twins looked at each other.

Morgan raised an eyebrow. "So you and Amata really-"

"I got nothing to say on that." Danny said hotly, gathering his things from his dresser. He took out the old Grognak the Barbarian comic Amata had given him so long ago, smiled briefly, and then hid it in his jumpsuit. He put on his baseball cap and hefted his bat, giving it a few experimental swings.

Morgan dumped the large amount of junk he had into a duffel bag, and slung it over his shoulder. He turned to his dresser and picked up the BB gun Dad had given him years ago. It was in near-perfect condition, and he was still a crack shot with it.

"So what's the plan?" Danny asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm not particularly happy with killing guards."

Morgan paused. "Well, yeah. I don't want to either. You know how to hit someone to knock em' out, right?"

"Yeah."

"Ok, you do that. I'll hold off using the pistol unless we really need it. The BB gun will hurt like hell, but it shouldn't kill."

"Good. You ready?"

"I bloody well hope so. You?"

"I bloody well hope so, too."

The twins clasped each others' arms and strode out of their room.

Both had a feeling they wouldn't be coming back to it anytime soon.


	8. Chapter 8: Shock Therapy

Chapter 8

They walked out their room into the hallway. There was a tension in the air, as if something important had been broken, and whether or not it could be repaired was still in question.

"Okay…" Morgan started, clearly disturbed.

"Attention Vault residents."

The intercom crackled to life, flooding the corridor with the stern voice of the Overseer.

"The Vault is now under security lockdown. All residents are confined to quarters. The radroach infestation is under control. Anyone found outside their quarters will be dealt with. _Severely._"

The message ended.

"Well that's just peachy. The guards are not going to be particularly happy with us, are they?" Morgan deadpanned.

"Hey you! Stop where you are!"

Down the hall to their left was a security officer. He had his baton out and a not entirely friendly look in his eyes.

"I believe that's one vote 'no'." Danny quipped, readying his bat.

"Halt in the name of the Overseer!" The guard started. He was interrupted by the sudden appearance of about five radroaches.

"Crimeny!" the guard shouted, fear in his eyes as he flailed wildly with his baton.

Morgan took aim and picked off two roaches at the officer's feet. Danny rushed forward, pulling his bat out as he went. A long sweep of the club took care of two more roaches, and the officer caught the last under his heel, grinding it into the floor.

"Whew, that was close. Are you oka-" Danny just barely managed to block a blow from the officer's baton.

"What the hell, man? We were just trying to-" he started again, the guard interrupting him with another blow.

"Will you just-" Danny was knocked to the ground as the officer delivered a terrific upswing, also knocking his bat out of his hands and down the corridor.

"Danny!"

Morgan came charging down the hall, firing shots as he went.

"Get off of him, you scumbag!" Morgan cried, shooting wildly.

"Aagh!" Two shots, two hits, in the officer's torso and arm, the injuries interrupting his attempt to finish off Danny.

"Well, I tried." Danny mumbled to himself as he launched his feet into the officer's stomach from his prone position. The guard howled in pain and doubled over.

Leaving himself wide open for a quick rabbit punch to the forehead.

The guard hit the ground, snoring like a chainsaw.

"Well. How many crimes have we committed so far?" Danny asked, vaguely annoyed.

"Assault on Vault Security, Insubordination of Vault Directives, Possesion of an Illegal Weapon… and Theft of Vault-Tec Property." Morgan answered, smirking.

"Theft? What have we stolen?"

"The guard's armor. I don't know about you, but if the rest of the guards are this… fanatical, I'd like some protection."

"Alright, but you get it yourself."

"Gladly. Go get your bat will'ya? And keep an eye out for more scumbags."

"Roaches or security?"

"Take your pick."

Morgan removed the guard's armor and police baton as Danny retrieved his bat.

"Got a bit of a dent in it from that upswing. Think we can stop at the locker rooms?"

"Too far out of our way. Same with the armory, though I bet my pass wouldn't let me in anyway. You can use the police baton if you want. "

"I'm good for now, but keep it on you. Let's keep moving."

The brothers continued down the hall, swatting the occasional roach aside. There were signs of disrepair all around, and the lights continued to flicker crazily. In the distance they could hear screaming and panic. The Vault was in chaos.

They had just reached the stairwell when from behind them…

"You gotta help me!"

They whirled around, weapons up, to see Butch standing with a pleading expression on his face.

"Whoah! What the hell?" Butch stepped back, noticing the pair was armed.

"What is it Butch?"

"My mom is trapped in there with those roaches! You gotta help!" Butch shouted, gesturing back to his quarters.

"Butch. Asking us for help. If only he knew what 'irony' meant…" Morgan began, obvious distaste in his voice.

Butch looked him square in the eye. "Look, I know I give you crap sometimes. So what? I need your help now!"

Danny sighed. "Come on, let's go see if we can save her." he started for the rooms, grabbing Butch as he went past.

"_No!_" Butch twisted out of Danny's grip and jumped away.

"I'm not going back in there! I can't!" The twins were surprised to see him quaking with fear!

"What's the matter, Butch? Afraid of a few roaches?" Morgan smirked.

"Well… yeah! I can't stand them, so creepy and crawly and with those antenna-"

"_Look at me, Mr. DeLoria."_

Butch turned to face Danny, who grabbed him and pulled him face-to-face.

"I know you are scared. I know you hate roaches. But your mom is in there."

Morgan and Butch stared at Danny. He usually was meek and quiet. Now, he looked ready to tear someone's heart out.

"Are you gonna let some roaches hurt your family?"

"But-"

"Are you gonna let some bugs chomp on your mom!"

"Now look, man, I-"

"Are you gonna let some damned _insects_ mess up your life?"

"No! I just-"

Danny threw butch against the wall. "_Then what the hell are you whimpering out here for! GET IN THERE AND SAVE HER!"_ Danny screamed.

Butch leaned against the wall for a moment. He seemed torn. Then he straightened up and rushed back into his room, pulling out his switchblade and shouting like a berserker.

"Well." Morgan said, walking up behind Danny. "That was… forceful." He gave his brother a sidelong glance.

Danny said, quietly, "Some people react to flattery. Some react to insults. And then there are those you need to hammer some sense into." He smiled grimly.

They entered the room in time to see Butch skewering the last roach with his knife. Mrs. DeLoria was fine, save a few bite marks, and was looking at her son with awe on her face.

"We did it! My mom's gonna be okay!" Butch exclaimed, grinning like a loon.

"Hey, you did it Butch. I was just shock therapy."

Butch's grin threatened to take his head off. "I guess I did, didn't I? Wow." He looked to his mom, then back to the twins. "Hey, thanks man. I needed to hear that."

"No problem, I was glad to help."

"I know it ain't much, but here; take my jacket. You deserve it."

Danny donned the jacket, if nothing just because it was more protection than a jumpsuit. "What are you gonna do now?" Danny inquired.

"Gonna lock down the room. Sit tight until it's all over." Butch looked back to his mom. "Then… I guess I'll try to dry her out. Who knows? It might be worth a shot."

"Well, good luck with that Butch, but we have a pressing engagement topside." Danny said, leaving the room.

"Uh… okay. Take care, man."

The twins backtracked to the stairway.

"That was interesting." Morgan said, still a little amazed by the change in Butch.

"Yeah. I wish I knew how that's gonna turn out."

They marched on.


	9. Chapter 9: Secrets Unburied

Ch9

They continued up the stairs, approaching their dad's clinic, when they head the sound of a flamethrower and a familiar robotic voice:

"Aha! Burn, you vermin!"

They rounded the corner to find a security officer and Andy clearing out some roaches.

"Should we help them?" Morgan inquired.

"Nah, Andy loves toasting those roaches. Would hate to spoil his fun." Danny said, leaning against the wall and smiling at the display.

The officer turned as the last roach went down, and they recognized Officer Gomez. Morgan went for his BB gun.

"Easy, easy! I don't want to start anything!" Gomez started. "I'm hardly a match for you two anyway."

Morgan eased off. "Sorry for the gun, but a friend of yours attacked us outside our quarters."

"Sorry bout' that. Um, how is he?" Gomez asked, a little fear in his voice.

"We didn't kill him, though he's gonna have some lovely bruises in the morning." Morgan replied.

"Oh, uh, good. Look, you're going after your dad, right? Just get outta here and I'll pretend I never saw you."

"And we will pretend that you don't work for a homicidal maniac."

"Don't I know it. Now get along." He walked back toward where the twins had come from.

"At least someone has retained their sanity." Danny remarked. "Come on, let's check the clinic."

They walked in to find it a mess. Stanley was patching up Andy, who was complaining about his incompetence at repairwork. Stanley gave them a friendly nod and kept on with Andy.

They walked into dad's office to find it was just as much a mess. The computer was on the floor, powered but locked down. They both looked to the framed quote on the wall.

_Revelation 21:6_

"_I am Alpha and Omega._

_The beginning and the end._

_I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely."_

They stood silent for a while.

"I can't believe he upped and left. Why?" Morgan said, quietly.

"I don't know. Maybe he was in trouble with the Overseer. Maybe he wanted to see if his bullshit was fake or not." Danny replied, unsure.

They stared at the frame a little longer.

"We're taking it with." Morgan said.

"Damn right we are."

Morgan pulled the framed excerpt down, to find a small safe behind it.

"Did you know about this?" he asked, surprise in his voice.

"No, I didn't…" He tried the handle, and finding it locked, went to work on the dial, listening closely.

"I'm gonna pick up any spare equipment around, call when you finish." Morgan said, stepping back outside.

"M'kay…" Danny grunted, straining to hear the tumblers.

Morgan walked back with a handful of medical supplies just as Danny popped the safe open.

"So what do we have?" Morgan asked, setting his gathered supplies on the table.

"Not much. A holotape, a rolled up blueprint and a bag…" Danny opened the latter.

"Bottle caps?"

"What?"

"There are a few hundred bottle caps in here."

"Any idea what they are for?"

"No, but if dad was holding onto them they must be important." He tied the bag to his belt. "What else…"

He pulled out the rolled-up blueprint, stretching it out on the desk.

It appeared to be some kind of weapon, with some strange specifications.

"What the hell? Firehose nozzle… conductor… vacuum cleaner? Can you make any sense of this Morgan?"

"Lemme see…" Morgan looked over the prints, his eyes slowly widening. "This is incredible! This machine appears to be able to take any object and shoot it at high speed!"

"What, like a missile launcher? Why bother?"

"Think about it! You would never run out of ammunition! You could load anything into this! Bottles, cans, anything! If I could just get to my workbench…" Morgan sighed.

"Well, that option is closed to us. But maybe once we get outta here we can get something going." Danny offered.

"Yeah… well, what's the holotape got?"

"Dunno." He switched it on.

They were greeted by the voice of their father.

_Well, here we are. Nestled all safe and snug inside Vault 101. It's so cold down here. Colder still with Catherine gone...  
>Oh, Catherine... I so wish you were here with me. How the hell am I supposed to do this by myself? Live down in this hole. Take care of our children...<br>But this is our life now, so I guess I'd better get used to it. The Overseer who runs the place is an overbearing bully, but I've dealt with worse._

The voice died away…

"That's… what… what's going on!" Morgan stammered.

"The way he talks… like we weren't born in the Vault? That can't be right…" Danny mumbled.

They stood silent for a moment.

"Well… uhh, I got a bunch of surgical stuff, though I didn't take anything the rest of the Vault would need." Morgan stated, ending the silence.

"Good." Danny packed away the newly found items and the frame, also packing away the Limited Edition Vault-Tec Medicine Bobblehead his dad had kept on his desk.

"Wonder if we'll find anymore of these out there…" he murmered.

"Well let's get going, we're a bit behind schedule." Morgan pointed out.

"Right."

Waving goodbye to Stanley and Andy, they proceeded out into hall and toward the stairs to the Atrium.


	10. Chapter 10: Field of Fire

Ch 10?

They reached the top to hear the sound of an argument, and they rounded the corner to see Tom and Mary Holden going at it.

"This is not a good idea!" Mary started.

"Don't you see? We're gonna get outta here, just like the Doc!" He started running toward the Vault Entrance.

Danny sprinted forward, rushing past Mary as she started to shout for Tom to stop.

Tom reached the corridor to the Vault entrance. There were two guards at the end with 10mm pistols. "Hey guys, it's me!" he shouted.

The guards immediately raised their pistols.

"Wha-!" Tom started, before getting hit in the shoulder with a bullet. And then getting tackled by Danny, rushing him out of the doorframe.

"_Tom!_" Mary tried to rush over to him, but Morgan grabbed her. "Hold it Mary! Tom's okay, but if you go over there those guards aren't going to be any happier to see you either!"

Danny stood up, a bit groggy from his impact. He noticed Tom's shoulder was bleeding.

"Oh, come on…"

He propped Tom against the wall, who looked at him in confusion.

"Danny? What are you doing here?"

"What am _I_ doing? _What the hell were you thinking, Tom!_" Danny replied, more than annoyed with getting shot at.

"I… I just thought I could get out like your dad did…"

"_Tom._ The guards have been authorized to use lethal force to keep people escaping the Vault. The Overseer is rather ticked off at the moment. What made you think you could just waltz through!"

Tom never got to answer, being interrupted by a bullet ricocheting off the floor next to them.

"Morgan!"

"Yeah?"

"Tom's okay, but those guards are making it bloody difficult to focus! What should we do?"

"What do you mean? We'll just knock em' out like last time!"

"I can't get that close! It's a long hallway and I have no cover! I can't close with them!"

"See, this is what happens when you focus on close combat!" Morgan yelled as a another few bullets ricocheted off the walls.

"Is there anything we can use for cover?"

Morgan looked around frantically. Then he noticed a fallen wall panel over by Danny.

"Use that panel! Get Tom across and we'll figure it out from there!"

Danny grabbed the panel and turned to face Tom.

"Tom, we need to get to the other side."

"No way! They're shootin' at us!"

"Tom, if we don't go, we'll die. If you die, who's going to look after Mary?" Danny questioned.

Tom was silent for a moment. "…All right, say when."

"Ready… set… GO!"

They raced across the doorway, bullets pinging off the plate, and one even finding its way through a corner.

They slid to a stop, and Morgan and Mary came over.

"Tom! Are you alright?" Mary asked, near tears.

"He'll be fine, but I have to get that bullet out. Morgan, can you keep them off us?"

"I can try, but BBs ain't gonna keep em' back for long."

Danny sighed. "Use the pistol then. Try not to hit them unless they charge down the hall."

"Got it."

Danny turned back to Tom. "Tom, I can fix this, and you don't have too much damage, but this is going to hurt like hell."

Tom reached out and grabbed Mary's hand. "Do it quick."

Danny, picked some tweezers out of his bag, then very carefully, began to pull the bullet out.

"AAAAAAAAAGGHHHH!" Tom screamed, writhing in pain.

"Mary, hold him still or he'll hurt himself more!" Danny snapped. Mary complied, somewhat shakily.

Danny proceeded to pull the rest of the bullet out. "Okay…" He stuck a stimpak into the wound, and looked at Mary. "Take him back to his room, and keep him off of the shoulder. Don't have him do any heavy lifting for a few days, and he should be fine."

"Thank you, Danny. I'm sorry that-"

"Don't mention it. Just tell the Overseer it was me if he asks, so that he knows I cleaned up after his goddamn mess."

Mary nodded and led Tom off.

"I don't mean to rush you, but I'm afraid that they are getting bolder." Morgan stated flatly as a bullet pinged off the support beam he was leaning against.

Danny stood up. "Right. They have officially ticked me off." He hefted the wall panel.

Morgan looked at him, wide-eyed. "You're not gonna-"

"Yep."

"While they're-"

"Fraid' so."

"Danny!"

"If we leave them here, conscious, they'll only shoot at more people! I'm gonna take em' out."

Morgan stared for a second, then smirked. "And people say I'm the crazy one."

"Shaddup and just fire over my shoulder as I go."

"Got it. On three?"

"Count off. One…" Danny readied the panel.

"Two…" Morgan loaded the BB gun.

"THREE!"

Danny twisted round the corner, bracing against the improvised shield as he pounded at ramming speed down the corridor.

Morgan whipped around the corner to shoot at the now distracted guards, catching one on them in their pistol arm, causing them to drop their weapon.

The other fired at Danny, but the improvised shield held up to the small-caliber rounds.

Danny closed in like a freight train, ramming the armed guard against the door at the end of the corridor, where he slumped to the ground.

The other guard swung at Danny with a police baton, but Danny caught the weapon in his right hand and punched the guard with his left. The guard reeled back against the wall, just in time to take a BB from Morgan's rifle to the forehead, knocking him out. Danny turned and rabbit punched the guard he had rammed, putting him out too.

"Nice shot."

"Thanks. Want some armor?" Morgan asked as he moved to loot the unconscious guards.

"Sure. This jacket isn't that helpful against bullets." He stopped for a second.

"What? What is it?" Morgan asked, seeing his brother stiffen.

"We just saved two people, one of whom was shot, rushed down a hallway and knocked out two officers under orders of the leader of this Vault, who had told them to shoot anyone going into that corridor."

"So?"

"So, I believe something is going on."

Morgan stopped his looting. "What do you mean?"

"Come on! Think with those few remaining brain cells! Something has to be going on. Why has the Overseer gone so berserk over one guy leaving the Vault? Why has he put orders down to shoot people on sight, instead of just incapacitating them? Hell, how did dad leave! It's supposed to be so radioactive out there that you'd fry in minutes!"

"Danny, calm down." Morgan said, a little concerned. "I don't know any more than you do… but…" He said, grinning "We now have a prime excuse to hack the Overseer's terminal and truly get to the bottom of all this."

"All right…" Danny said, looking at the unconscious guards, uncertainty still on his face.

They looted the armor off the guards, along with two more 10mm pistols.

"Hrmmm… shoddy. I swear, no one does proper maintenance…" Morgan murmured.

"Not the time."

"Right, sorry."


	11. Chapter 11: Hail to the Chief

Ch11

They made their way back to the atrium, and up to the second level, Danny smashing radroaches aside with his bat.

They were making their way across the upper floor when…

"YOU! It's all your fault!"

They whirled around and found the Mr. Mack yelling at them through his window.

"This is all your fault! You and your lousy father! He had to leave and ruin life for the rest of us!"

"Hey!" Morgan cried, slamming his hand against the window. "It's the damn Overseer's fault! He and his guards are the ones just randomly killing people!"

"Morgan…" Danny sighed.

"Oh yeah! If your dad hadn't left, none of this would've happened! Honey, where's my gun!" He started to search around the room.

"MORGAN!" Danny shouted, pulling his brother aside. "He's hurting, Morgan. His peace has been threatened, as have many people's. They need something to blame, and we're the easiest to pin it on. Let them have their delusion."

Morgan calmed down. "But…Well… Bah, alright, but don't expect me to like it."

"I don't, because I don't like it, and I'm the nice one."

"Yeah, like hell!"

"I have people skills, whereas you have all the social grace and tact as a grizzly with terminal toothache."

"People love a wiseass!"

"When it isn't talking to _them_."

They continued to bicker, until they approached the mainframe. There, a Vault mechanic lay on the ground, dead, his tools still beside him.

"Damn…" Morgan said. "Goddamn roaches."

Danny shook his head. "It wasn't roaches. He was shot."

"What!" Morgan looked at the body angrily. "How do you know?"

"Look at the wall. There's a… splatter. A radroach wouldn't cause a splatter like that…"

Morgan looked down. The man still had his eyes wide open in shock.

He reached down and closed them.

"Damn it, Danny. Why did they kill him?"

"He was near the mainframe. They must've thought… he was trying to sabotage the Vault."

"The idiots. Can't tell whether or not someone is a threat... who hires them anyway?"

"The Overseer personally picks them, based on loyalty."

"Fanaticism, you mean."

"I guess so."

"Well, let's just-"

"Hold it right there!"

They turned to the far door to see Security Chief Hannon. He was holding a pistol in one hand and a baton in the other.

"Well, crap." Morgan grunted.

"Chief Hannon, we were on our way-"

"Right out of the Vault!" the chief growled, stalking toward them. "Thinking you'll just escape, eh? Well, that's-"

Danny interrupted him by kicking the pistol out of his hand. "There. Now can we just-"

He dodged the swipe from the baton, half-expecting it.

"Blast and burn the whole damned world…" He muttered, blocking and swinging with his bat. "Everyone just wants to fight…"

Morgan sighed also. "You really should know by now." He stated flatly as he started to bring the BB gun to bear.

"Yes but-" Duck. "- I feel it's always-" Block. "Worth a shot. Anyway, he's not too- AAGGH!" Danny hit the ground hard, his head ringing.

"For the Overseer!" Chief Hannon cried, rushing forward with a two-handed swing.

"Danny! Roll!" Morgan started shooting BBs, but the Chief was a bit more armored than his couterparts, and the BBs were innefective.

"Wha-?" Danny said groggily. He looked up just in time. "Yeep." He rolled out just in time for the baton to crack where his head had been.

"Danny! The BBs ain't helpin'!"

Danny scythed the officer's legs from under him. "Then grab his pistol!" He screamed, scrabbling to get up. He got his legs under him, and looked around for his bat. He saw it over in the corner, broken into pieces.

"DAMN IT! I liked that bat! Dad gave it to me when I became Little League Coach!" He whirled around to face the Chief, who had just struggled to his feet.

Danny calmed himself, slightly, squared up with the Chief, and entered a fighting stance.

The Chief charged, yelling wildly, swinging his baton.

And Danny exploded into motion.

He grabbed the baton, twisting it against the side of his body and pulling the Chief into him, where he lashed out into the Chief's gut with his elbow. The chief staggered back, releasing the baton, which Danny tossed aside. The Chief, a bit of surprise on his face, swung a fist at Danny, who leaned back out of the way while landing a kick to Hannon's chest, pushing him back more. The Chief tried to right himself, but Danny slammed him into the wall, knocking the Chief's breath out. Danny swung his fist once, twice, three times, and the Chief slumped against the wall, groaning.

Danny turned away, dusting himself off, before noticing Morgan watching him with amazement.

"What?"

"What the hell man! Where did you learn all that? You kicked him to the curb man!" Morgan jabbered, still a bit enthused over what he had seen.

"What? You think me and Amata spent all that time in training making out?"

"Well, yes!"

Danny gave his brother a dirty look. "Well, we didn't! We actually practiced moves most of the time, first because she wanted to learn the basics, but then it got to be fun."

"Alright, alright! One thing though…" Morgan added.

"What?"

"Did you really say 'yeep'?"

"Shut up!"

He walked over to his bat, picking up the pieces.

"Aww man… did he break it? Must've been that overhead swing…"

"Yeah…" Danny was crushed. That bat had been a great companion, and weapon, to him for the last few years.

"I'll see if I can fix it when we get outta here, shouldn't be too bad." Morgan consoled, placing the pieces in his duffel bag.

"Yeah… we'll see."

They continued on.


	12. Chapter 12: Innocence Lost

Ch12

They rounded the corner, heading to the overseer's office. They were passing by the holding cells when…

"Stop it, please!"

"That was Amata! Come on!" Danny yanked Morgan after him.

They sneaked up to the window looking into the holding office. There, Amata was sitting on a chair, tears in her eyes and a few bruises on her face. Officer Mack and the Overseer were standing over her, the Overseer looking slightly perturbed, and Mack having a malicious grin on his face.

"Be reasonable, Amata." They heard the Overseer say. "Officer Mack may enjoy this, but I don't. Just tell us where your friends are so we can talk to them!"

"I just… I just wanted to help them, they're my friends! What do they have to do with this anyway?" Amata asked, her voice bitter.

"Probably nothing. Which is why we need to talk to them so we can move on from this."

"Just leave them alone!" Amata screamed.

The Overseer looked taken aback. Then his face turned to stone. "Very well. Officer Mack. Continue."

"My pleasure!" The officer raised his police baton.

"Like hell he is!" Danny started for the door.

"Like hell you are!"

Danny looked through the window to see Amata catch the nightstick and slam a palm against the Officer's gut, rocking him back a step. Mack straightened up and looked at Amata, disbelief on his face.

"What the-?" he started, before getting a snap kick to the groin, doubling him over.

He straightened up and pressed the attack, swinging wildly at Amata, the Overseer looking on in a panic.

Mack pressed on backing Amata into a corner. She hit the wall and glared at Mack. He grinned, raised his nightstick…

And stopped as someone tapped him on the shoulder. "Scuse' me"

He turned around just in time to catch Danny's haymaker in the jaw.

Amata watched with jaw open as Officer Mack spun, hit the wall, and crashed to the floor in a heap. She looked up to see Morgan blocking the exit, her father backed into a corner, and Danny shaking some feeling into his hands.

An interesting turn of events.

"You okay, Amata?" Danny asked, concern on his face. "You handled yourself pretty w- ooff!"

He was interrupted by the impact of Amata giving him a bear hug. Morgan stood by, grinning. The Overseer looked… impassive.

"Woah, calm down Amata! I need those ribs!"

"Sorry…" Amata drew back, blushing.

Danny looked at the Overseer, and his face hardened. "Amata. Go wait in your room, I gotta talk with your dad for a second."

Amata looked worried. "Danny…"

"Don't worry, we just want to talk to him." Danny soothed. Amata left, still worried.

After she was out of earshot, Danny picked up the Overseer and slammed him into the wall.

"YOU _BASTARD!_ How could you do that to her! Your own _daughter_, damn it!" Danny screamed in his face.

"Contain yourself, Daniel." The Overseer was still wearing an impassive face, despite being held against a wall two feet above the ground.

"If you _ever _hurt Amata again, I will personally _dismember _you_. UNDERSTOOD!"_ Danny snarled, dropping the man.

The Overseer dusted himself down. "I place the good of the Vault over all other things. I cannot allow parental emotion to hinder my judgment!" The words sounded forced, like he had to believe them. "But," he continued, his face softening, "I admire your protective instincts. Very well, I shall not hold Amata responsible for any of the unpleasantness that has occurred this night." His face turned into a scowl. "But you two…"

"Stop right there. None of this is our fault." Morgan growled.

"Oh? I've been keeping the Vault in order for decades, young man! The sacrifice of a few people for the good of the Vault is a small price to pay!"

"Is that what you said to Jonas before you had Mack kill him?" Morgan spat.

"We're not killers. But you are a murderer and a thug." Danny added.

"Let's let history be the judge of that, shall we? It is always written by the victor, and I intend to be that victor, you won't survive the night! Guards! Help me!"

"Overseer…" Danny started.

"Ah, let him yell." Morgan interrupted. "There aren't any conscious guards in the vicinity."

Later, Danny would reflect on how that statement was just _asking_ for trouble.

Officer Mack hit Morgan with a flying tackle, bearing him to the ground.

Danny was about to assist Morgan when the Overseer ripped open a locker near him and pulled out a 10mm pistol.

"Well, shit." Danny said.

"You will not leave this Vault!" the Overseer snapped, aiming the pistol at Danny.

"Let's not do anything we will regret, Overseer." He mentally measured the distance between him and the Overseer. About ten feet, give or take. Bit of a risk, depending on how fast a shot the old man was.

"Regret? _Regret!_ What I 'regret' is letting you boys and your damned idealistic father into this Vault!" the old man screeched.

"Wait, what?" Danny was confused.

"You and your father have, in the last day, ruined what I have been protecting for _years!_" He started to pull the trigger.

For Danny, this all happened in slow motion. He twisted to the side, hoping to dodge the shot, and stepped in quickly, his arm raising the old man's pistol arm up, his other arm swooping low to hit him in the gut…

The shot…

The pain…

Danny shouted in pain, but he twisted the pistol out of the Overseer's hand, and staggered back. He turned to see that Mack and his brother were still struggling, and Mack appeared to have the upper hand.

Morgan fought back, with his random, vigorous style he had always used fighting the Tunnel Snakes, but Mack was more experienced, and Morgan was slowly losing the fight.

Then Mack got in a lucky kick, and he raised his arms to deliver a slam to Morgan's face.

"Die, you worthless-!"

This shout was interrupted by the sudden hole in his head.

Danny stood off to the side, the pistol he had taken in hand, smoking slightly, his face a frozen mask of surprise.

The officer tumbled to the ground, his eyes still wide with shock.

"What-wha-?" Morgan spluttered, trying to compose himself. "What did you do!"

"I shot him." Danny's voice came out, flat and neutral. "I shot him in the head…"

"Umm… thanks. He would've bashed my brains in." Morgan added, noting the careful tone his brother was using.

Danny turned to the Overseer. "Get in the holding cell."

"Young man, I am still-"

"_Get in the cell, Overseer Alphonse Almodovar."_

Danny's voice sounded like tombstones grating together.

The Overseer rocked back, then slowly trundled into the cell. Danny locked him in.

"Danny?" Morgan tried.

Danny looked at the pistol, then threw it to the ground.

"Damn them all to hell."

He stormed out, heading for the Overseer's quarters.

Morgan looked down to the pistol, then to Officer Mack's body.

"Oh…Danny." Morgan sighed, sorry for innocence lost.


	13. Chapter 13: Respect to the Dead

CH13

Morgan caught up with Danny at the entrance to the Overseer's office, who was staring at something on the floor.

"Danny, I just want-"

Then he saw what Danny was staring at.

Jonas.

Morgan knelt by the fallen Vault technician. He felt numb. "This- this can't be right. You were a great guy… you helped the whole Vault and they- they just-"

Morgan stood up and threw his police baton at the wall.

"What the hell! Why would you do this to people you are supposed to protect?"

"I guess-"

"_Do not try to rationalize this for them, Danny!"_ Morgan was nearly glowing with his rage. "They could have just checked on what was going on! They could have disobeyed their orders! The same with the Holdens back there! If we hadn't helped them, they'd be dead! _And the Overseer personally picked these damned murderers!"_

"Morgan-"

"He even let Mack beat on Amata! His own _daughter,_ Danny! How do you excuse _that _one?"

"MORGAN!"

"WHAT!"

"They are all monumental, zealous bastard sons of Satan who couldn't have a positive thought if it was shoved up their ass!"

Morgan stopped for a second, staring at Danny.

Danny smiled grimly. "Thought that'd shut you up."

Morgan glared. "Not the time."

"I know. But you needed to calm down."

Morgan sighed, and looked back to Jonas.

"Rest, friend. Least' you're finally getting some time off."

Danny looked around the outer office, finding a holotape on a nearby desk.

It was marked "Goodbye, Boys".

"Morgan. Another tape from dad."

"More old memoirs?"

"I don't think so…" Danny said as he hit the play button.

_Hold on Jonas, I need to record this first. _

_I... I don't really know how to tell you this. I hope you'll understand, but I know you might be angry. I thought about it for a long time, but in the end I decided it was best for you not to know. So many things could have gone wrong and there's really no telling how the overseer will react when he finds out. It's best if he can blame everything on me. Obviously you already know that I'm gone. It was something I needed to do. You're an adult now. You're ready to be on your own. Maybe someday things will change and we can see each other again. I can't tell you why I left or where I'm going. I don't want you to follow me. God knows life in the vault isn't perfect, but at least you'll be safe. Just knowing that will be enough to keep me going. _

_(Jonas) Don't mean to rush you, Doc, but I'd feel better if we got this over with_

_Okay. Go ahead. Goodbye. I love you. _

The twins were silent.

"Damn it."

The silence continued.

"What the hell was so important that he left without telling _us!_" Morgan shouted angrily.

"I don't know. But when we find him I will personally smack him upside the head."

"Get in line."

They walked into the Overseer's quarters, where they found Amata, her head in her hands.

"Amata?" Danny coughed, not sure what to say.

She was quiet for a moment. "What happened?" she said quietly, as if afraid of the answer.

"Your father turned on us, tried to shoot me. I disarmed him. Then I shot Mack when he nearly brained Morgan."

Amata looked up. "Where's my father?"

"In a holding cell. He's fine for now…"

Amata looked back down to the table. "He let Mack hit me. Just let him do it."

"Amata, I-"

Amata looked at Danny, a sad smile on her face. "Don't make excuses for him, Danny. I know you want to believe in the good in people, but that won't fly right now."

Danny nodded. "Let's move on then."

"I'm going to try the main route. Now that you have the guards knocked out, it should be safe."

She hugged Danny. "Thanks for saving me."

"You're welcome." Danny smiled weakly.

Amata raced out of the room.

"You okay?" Morgan asked, seeing Danny's downcast face.

"I will be. Let's get moving."

Danny knelt down at the door of the Overseer's office and started picking the lock, while Morgan looked over Jonas, and eventually took the dead friend's glasses. "To remember you by, Jonas."

"Done. Your turn." Danny called as he moved into the Overseer's office.

Morgan moved over to the terminal the far side of the room. "Be just a moment."

Danny looked around the room. It was cold, and sparsely decorated, containing little but functional objects.

"Just like the man…"

"Hey, I got it! Let's see what you've been up to, Mr. Almodovar…"

They were amazed by what they found. Scouting reports, personnel files, the orders of the Overseer…

And something else…

"A G.E.C.K? What is that?" Danny asked.

"Garden of Eden Creation Kit." Morgan intoned.

"How do you know?"

"It was mentioned in a few old memos I found when I was snooping round' the system. It's a terraforming module, supposed to create a whole new world. Never got out of experimental stage though."

"Huh."

"Ah, here we are. Open Seasame!"

The desk of the Overseer groaned, shifted, and rose up to reveal a musty tunnel beneath the floor.

"And that is talent."

"Don't see how you would know."

"Just get in the tunnel."


	14. Chapter 14: Heaven or Hell?

The tunnel was surprisingly short, and exited below the maintenance area.

"We're close man…" Morgan remarked, checking corners as he went.

"Right through here, I think." Danny said, opening a door across the room.

The pair navigated a bit further, until…

"Woah."

"Yeah."

The pair had done some major exploring throughout their lives, but they had never made it to the Vault door, as the place was under constant guard. So they were not prepared for the monolith before them.

The door was easily twelve feet in diameter, and made of rusted steel. The number on the door read, in faded yellow paint…

101

"Okay. I can see why no one has left for a while." Morgan stated flatly.

"Damn, how do we open it? The thing is huge!"

"One second. This panel oughta…"

Klaxons flared to life, warning lights lit up, and slowly, like the stone rolling back from Lazarus' tomb, the door slid open with the sound of grating metal.

From the main entrance to the room Amata rushed in, staring at awe at the opening door. She turned to the twins.

"You did it! I knew you could!" She laughed, punching the air.

"Hey, we couldn't have done it without you, Amata." Danny smiled.

"One of your plans finally paid off." Morgan quipped, grinning.

Amata ignored him. "You guys didn't need me. Go on, go find your dad."

Danny was paralyzed for a second as he realized what this meant. "Come with us, Amata." He blurted out.

Amata was taken aback. So was Morgan. "Danny, you can't ask that of her. It's not fair to her." Morgan hissed.

"No, Morgan, it's okay for him to ask." Amata looked up, tears in her eyes. "It's tempting Danny. It is. But…" She looked down. "I can't leave. People are going to need me. Badly. My father is going to go nuts. I need to act as damage control."

Danny's heart sank lower than the Vault. But at the same time… "I'm proud of you, Amata." He smiled, a sad grin. "Be better than your father, and help them through these times."

Amata smiled back. "I will."

They kissed. Not long, not hard. Just enough to remember the other by.

As they pulled back, Danny said, "And if you need any help, and I know this will sound nuts, ask Butch. He owes me a favor."

"For what?"

"Ask him. He'll probably tell you."

Amata's face clouded. "Goodbye, Danny."

"Goodbye, Amata."

Danny started to head down the tunnel when…

"Hey! You two!"

Two officers climbed out into the room.

"Oh come on!" Morgan cried. "Can we get _one damn moment_!"  
>"Hey, don't worry. We saw what you did to the others." One of them said.<p>

"But we know you two are alright, so…"

They tossed the pair an ammo belt and a few stimpaks.

"We know your dad was all right. And the Overseer's gone nuts in any case."

"Good luck. Miss Almodovar, you might want us to escort you back."

"Um, okay. Just a moment." Amata turned to the pair. "Come back safe, okay?"

"Damn right we will!" Morgan crowed.

"Damn right…" Danny echoed.

They walked out into the cavern beyond.

"Well…" Morgan said. "Here we go."

"Reminds me of an old verse I saw in a book once." Danny remarked.

"How'd it go?"

Danny paused for a moment, looking over his shoulder to the guards leading Amata away.

"_Well, what is this,_

_That I can't see,_

_With ice cold hands,_

_Creeping over me…"_

The klaxons started again, and the door slowly scraped back into place…

"_Well now I'm dead,_

_From what I can tell,_

_So I open the door_

_To Heaven or Hell…"_

The pair stared at the ten-ton barrier between them and their old home.

"Heaven or hell…" Morgan murmured.

"Time to find out, then."

They emerged into the light.


	15. Chapter 15: Raided

"_Sweet Christ in Heaven!_"

Danny laughed at his brother's antics as he tried to crawl back into the tunnel.

"Oh come on! It's not _that_ bad." Danny said, turning to feel the warm sun on his face.

"Is having your eyes dipped in acid 'not that bad' too! I swear, when I can see again I will totally-"

"Um, Morgan…" Danny whispered, seeing what lay down the hill.

"-kick your ass _so hard-_" Morgan was ranting.

"_Morgan!_" Danny shouted.

"What!"

"Look…"

"Alright, alright, I don't see what the big-"

For a very short moment, Danny was gratified that the sight before him could shut even Morgan up.

They were standing on a small cliff above what looked like the ruins of a town. The skeletal remains of support beams and rough doorways seemed barren of life. There didn't seem to be any houses intact.

And beyond that, the wastes.

They stretched far, farther than either boy could see. They could see the wreckage of burnt-out cars, collapsed overpasses, dead trees…

And finally there was the sky. It didn't seem to end. It stretched on and it looked like there was no limit to the amount of "up" above them.

"Holy shit."

"Yeah."

It beautiful and incredible and terrifying all at once.

"Damn." Morgan breathed.

"I mean, I studied astronomy, so I guess that big thing is the sun…." Danny stammered quietly. "But the sky's so… and the ground's so… " He gave up.

"Damn."

"So where to now?" Morgan questioned, shouldering the bag of junk he had with him.

"Well…" Morgan started, pulling up the notes from the Overseer's computer. "The ruins below us are of a town called Springvale. According to the scout reports…" He looked up, and pointed to a large grey and brown lump on the horizon. "That must be Megaton, supposed to be a big settlement."

"So we're off to Megaton. I bet if Dad were to climb out of here…"

"Then he would probably head to the same place."

Morgan set off down the hill. "Let's roll."

They started jogging down the hill toward the skeleton remains of a town.

"Is this supposed to be Springvale?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah, but the scouting reports say that it's been totaled for a while now…" Danny replied, looking around.

"Think there's anything we can scavenge?"

"Maybe, but I don't think it would be a good idea to-," Danny started before a bullet ricocheted off the asphalt.

"Cover!" Morgan cried as he dove behind the low remains of an old house.

"HAHA! KILL EM' ALL!" The yell came from further into the town.

Danny rushed behind a large mailbox, drawing his pistol as he rolled into cover.

"_What the hell?" _The twins shouted in unison.

"Danny, are you hit?" Morgan asked, readying his pistol as rounds puffed into the debris around him.

"Nah, but I'm not exactly in the best position! What are we up against?"

Morgan looked through a newly-made hole to view their attackers.

And how odd they were…

There were six, and they were all filthy and disheveled, and their armor was a mish mash of everything old baseball catcher's padding to bent road signs. Their weapons were much the same, from a pair wielding lead pipes to one using what looked like, I shit you not, some oriental sword, and in the back shooting at them was one with an assault rifle, one with a hunting rifle, and another with what looked like a sawed-off shotgun.

"I think we may be in trouble!" Morgan yelled to Danny. "We got six crazies coming at us! Three are charging over now with some pipes and blades and there's a trio farther back with guns!"

"Are you _kidding me!"_ Danny spat, cringing as a few more shots pinged off the sidewalk he was on. "What the hell is with our karma today!"

"Got a plan? Cuz' we sure as hell need one!" Danny shouted as he looked over the wall to see the melee fighters at 20 yards and closing quick.

Danny thought fast, and was not pleased with the results. "Okay, Morgan, when the melee fighters get here, you're gonna have to take the heat! They should stop shooting when they get close, and then I'm gonna get the ones in the back!"

"What! Why don't you take them and I get the ones in the back!" Morgan exclaimed.

"Just trust me!" Danny said, tensing to run.

"Alright, but if one of us dies I swear you will never hear the end of it!" Morgan quipped as he readied himself.

"Wait for them to stop shooting!" Danny called, looking around the corner to see the oncoming fighters.

Damn, they really did look like crazies.

Morgan took the safety off and chambered a round into his 10mm.

The twins listened for the guns to fall silent…

And so they did, soon to be replaced by the insane ramblings of the oncoming wastelanders.

"Now, Morgan!"

Morgan rose like the wrath of kings, firing as many times as he was able at the oncoming trio as Danny sprinted off.

The raiders came on like hellish fiends, gibbering and whooping and burbling as they ran at the lone gunman.

"Shitshitshitshitshit…" Morgan muttered as he squeezed shots off.

One raider got hit multiple times in the chest, his sprint devolving into a pained loping as he approached Morgan, who promptly decked him with a handy 2x4.

The second one fared better, only taking two shots, one to his lightly-armored chest, the other to his arm. As he came round the corner he took a full swing at Morgan, who jumped backwards flat against the wall.

As the pipe came down again, Morgan lashed out with his fist, connecting with the raider square in the jaw while the raider connected with Morgan's left shoulder.

"Aaagh! Damn it, die you bastard!" Morgan shouted, bringing up his pistol to land three more shots in the raider's chest.

The raider staggered and was trying to right himself when Morgan brained him with the butt of the pistol.

Morgan looked for the last raider, the one with the sword, to see the bastard chasing after Danny.

"Oh know you don't, you son of a-" Morgan started when a foot-wide hole was blown in the wall he was leaning against.

"BITCH!" Morgan swore as he rolled back behind a support beam.

"Well, this is going great." Danny thought as he dodged another clumsy swipe from the swordsman raider, who appeared to have as much skill at swordsplay as he did at personal hygiene.

As Danny waited for a solid opening, he couldn't help but comment, "Damn it you daft bastard, if you're going to use a nice blade like that have the decency to do it right!"

"Shut up and stand still, asshole!" the raider growled, swinging out wide…

To immediately take two jabs to the face. "Such language! If only your dear old mother could hear you!"

The raider spat blood, and lunged forward crying out "DIE, DAMN IT!"

Danny smoothly sidestepped and grabbed the raiders arm, twisting it around to an unnatural angle.

"AAAAUUGH! Damn it!" The raider shouted in agony, dropping the sword.

"Will you just shut up? It's your own fault for attacking us." Danny pointed out.

"Rule of the wastes, you little pile of-" The raider began, before getting his arm twisted a bit farther.

"Either keep it civil or I break your arm, got it?" Danny asked in a bored tone.

The raider grimaced, then "Fine."

"So the rule of the wastes is Darwinism?" Danny asked.

"Dar-what?"

Danny sighed. "Survival of the fittest?"

The raider laughed. "Damn right. You and your little friend don't got a chance!"

"It's 'don't have', not 'don't got.'" Without warning, Danny pulled back, spinning the raider around, and threw a jab to the gut, a cross to the jaw, and roundhouse kicked him into a ruined wall.

Danny picked up the fallen sword and looked back to the unconscious raider.

"And what makes you think we listen to the odds?" Danny muttered as he walked on.

Morgan looked around to see another raider, a female this time, slot two more shells into a sawed-off shotgun.

"Idiot!" Morgan thought to himself. "Of course the scumbag wouldn't stay at long range with that!"

His thoughts were interrupted by hideous laughter. "Come out, little boy! Face me like a real man!"

"Considering how ass-ugly you are, I doubt a 'real man' has ever laid a finger on you!" Morgan called back, smiling as he heard the raider's screech of rage.

"You'll pay for that, asshole!" The raider screeched, running into the burnt out building. She sprinted up to the support Morgan was hiding behind…

Just in time to catch his 2x4 coming the other way.

The raider fell to the ground as the board cracked around her head, her sawed-off landing a few feet away. She reached out to grab it…

And found Morgan's 10 mm resting on her cheek.

"The only thing saving you, right now, is that you are a woman." Morgan stated. "If you start fighting and scratching like your friends there, I will be more than happy to ignore that fact."

The raider looked up scowling, but did nothing.

"Good, you have some semblance of intelligence. Now I am going to get your gun, then I am going to get something from my bag. If you so much as sneeze, I will shoot you. Nod if you understand."

The raider snarled, but gave a quick nod.

"Okay then." Morgan immediately scooped up the shotgun, thinking of how he might repair it from its crappy condition, and also how he had never seen or fired one before in the Vault. He turned to his bag to pull out some plastic zip-ties. No sense leaving her with her hands free…

Morgan took a moment to think on how ironic that thought was considering he had just done that.

He whirled around in time to see the raider rushing at him with a knife she had pulled from somewhere.

How appropriate that he had a new gun to try out.

Danny continued to sneak his way around to the remaining gunmen.

He found them laughing at the scene below, watching another raider pick her way towards the hidden Morgan.

"Damn, look at the dumbass run!" One laughed, leaning on his hunting rifle.

"Wait, wait, what just-" The second started, looking down the street.

Danny looked from behind the pair to see Morgan standing over the female raider, pistol to her head. Danny smiled, thinking that they finally had the upper hand.

"Damn it, the bitch couldn't finish off some wet behind the ears vaultie!" The rifle-bearer screamed.

"Screw it, let's just shoot him now!"

Okay, not a good sign.

Danny leapt from cover and rushed at the raider with the assault rifle, grabbing it as the raider aimed at his brother.

"What the hell!" The two wrestled each other to the ground as the second raider tried to aim his rifle at Danny.

Danny soon found he was outmatched in strength, and was slowly losing ground. And he also had another bastard aiming a rifle at him…

And that gave him another plan.

He waited until it looked like the rifleman had a bead, then heaved the other raider over him.

The shot took the raider in the back.

The rifleman stood, shocked as Danny desperately tried to wriggle out from under the foul-smelling body. Then he regained his senses and drew a knife, hoping to finish Danny off while he was down.

Danny scrambled out from under the dead man just in time to roll away from the knife-wielding maniac. He jumped to his feet just in time to dodge another cut. This raider was far more skilled than the earlier fool he'd fought.

Good thing he had a new toy.

Danny pulled the blade from his side, relishing the sound of it sliding free. The last few minutes had been chaotic, running on fear and adrenaline. But now, with the sword in his hand, it felt like…

Like he could take on any fool who tried.

Danny settled into a comfortable stance, and grinned at the raider.

"You may want to switch back to your gun, bozo, cause' you're gonna need all the help you can get…"

Half an hour later, the pair was sitting the curb in front of a derelict Nuka-Cola machine, sorting through the loot and savoring the lukewarm fizz.

"So you actually turned your back on her?" Danny asked, smirking.

"I'm used to fighting wimps like the Tunnel Snakes, okay? They don't usually have the balls to get back up." Morgan replied, a bit sullen.

"Ah, it's alright. I tried ambushing those two without really looking at them. Otherwise I would've tried shooting the one with the assault rifle, instead of trying to wrestle him."

"Heh, yeah, you're lucky he didn't tear you a new one."

"That's what the second one almost did with that damn rifle."

"Speaking of which, what's our count? For what we got, I mean?"

"Uhh.. let's see. Weapon wise, other than the kitchen knives and lead pipes, we got… an assault rifle, looks pretty beat up… and a hunting rifle, much the same…" Danny marked.

"I'll take those, if you don't mind." Morgan said.

"Go for it, I like it up close and personal anyways." Danny smiled, drawing his newly acquired sword.

"Damn." Morgan breathed, looking at the blade. "Very nice. Bit beat-up, though I can probably use the knife blades to repair it." He pulled out the sawed-off he had used earlier. "Pair that up with this, or your 10mm in your other hand, and you'll need to call in advance for more bastards to take out."

"Nice! Thanks man." Danny smiled, holstering it at his hip.

"What else we got…Some boxes of Cram, cans of Pork n' Beans, some really, _really_ crappy armor… and… what's this?" Morgan asked, holding up an inhaler of some kind.

"Oh shit, don't use that!" Danny cried, yanking it away.

"What, what?" Morgan asked, confused at Danny's urgency.

"I don't know what it is, exactly, but if they were all using this, I'll bet you that it wasn't because they all have asthma!" Danny exclaimed.

"So… what should we do with it?"

"Leave it be. We can find out what it is in Megaton, maybe."

"Okay that just leaves these." Morgan stated, pointing to a small pile of leather pouches.

"What's in them?"

"Bottle caps."

"Seriously? Like what we found in dad's office?"

"No shit."

"Hmm… Why would you carry that many around?"

"Maybe they have a collection going." Morgan stood up. "Well, it's not been two hours since we crawled out of the Vault and we're already exhausted. Let's hurry to Megaton."

"Sure, but one thing…" Danny said standing up.

"What?"

"YOU crawled out, I walked. You turned tail and cried for dada, remember?" Danny said, scooping loot into his backpack.

"Sword or not, I will kill you, Danny."

They walked on.


	16. Chapter 16: Lucky Harith's Education

"Wow. That is one big hunk of metal." remarked Danny.

"No, really? I thought it was cheese."

"Shaddap."

The pair marveled as they walked closer to the rusted walls. The whole settlement wasn't huge, but the walls were high, and appeared to be made out of anything considered hard enough to keep things out. The gates themselves were made of what looked like the wings of a jet plane, this supported by the fact that there was a jet engine suspended above it.

"Damn, what I wouldn't give to look at that engine…" Morgan mused.

"Well, hello there newcomers!" A voice behind them called.

They whirled around, hands going to their weapons, to see a dark-skinned man in a yellow jumpsuit coming down the trail, leading a….

What the hell is that?

"Now, now, no need to get violent. Leastways, not with me." The man said, walking up to them. "Name's Lucky Harith, caravaneer and supplier of hot death to whoever needs it. And by the looks of you two Vaulties, you most definitely need it."

"Um, sir, if you don't mind my asking…" Danny began, staring at the beast the trader was escorting.

"What the hell is with the two-headed cow?" Morgan exclaimed, staring at it as if he expected it to grow another head.

Harith laughed. "Wow, you really must be Vaulties if you don't know what a Brahmin is."

The pair stared at the "Brahmin". It looked like a cow that they had seen in Vault children's books, but it had two heads, large udders, was rather bulky and had very red, rough skin.

Danny cleared his head first. "Okay, um, we kinda started off bad. I'm Danny, this is Morgan, and you were right is saying we were 'Vaulties'."

"S'got two heads…" Morgan muttered. Danny elbowed him in the ribs.

"Well, despite you two looking fresh outta that hole in the ground, you look like you've seen some action already." Harith noted, pointing at their bloodied jumpsuits.

The twins looked at themselves and sighed. "Yeah, we ran into some murderous bastards a few yards back." Morgan explained, trying to ignore the mutated bovine in his field of view. "Do people usually do that out here?"

"Ah, I see you've met the local raider population. Nasty bunch, crazy as hell. They generally aren't too dangerous alone, but in groups they can hit ya hard." Harith said, turning back to the Brahmin. "But back to business, you two got anything worth trading? People been trying to get into that Vault for years, supposedly it's a treasure trove."

"We wouldn't know about that, but what is in short supply out here that might be in a Vault?" Danny asked. Harith gave him a look that said it all. "Just about everything kid. Not much was left when the bombs hit, and a lot of people out here would and have killed for food or water that isn't irradiated. There are small scale condensers and purifiers, but the fact of the matter is, most are on their last leg. Water is worth going to war over, as is shelter, food, weapons, ammo, technology. Hell, you name it, we haven't got it."

"Things are really that bad?" Morgan asked, worry on his face. Harith sighed, pulling out a lighter and cigarette, "Not always, not everywhere, but I ain't kidding you two, it's no picnic." He said, puffing out a small cloud. "But again, you got me distracted. Anything you two want to trade?"

"Before we trade, what's this?" Danny asked, holding up the inhaler they had found earlier.

Harith's eyes widened. "Oh man, that's some bad shit there. That, my uneducated vaulties, is Jet. I don't know the science, but it apparently it's like sticking jumper cables in your chest. Some sort of energy boost."

"So what's so bad about it?" Morgan asked. Before Harith could answer, Danny jumped in. "Because methamphetamines are extremely addictive. Too much use can drive people to do anything for another fix, and it completely destroys your body."

"I was gonna say, 'It turns your eyes red and shakes you up so much you fall apart,' but your friend there's got the more detailed cut of things. I'll buy it off ya though, there's always a market for the stuff."

So, after a few minutes of wheeling and dealing, during which the twins discovered bottlecaps were actually the currency of the 'Capital Wasteland'. Morgan found a few choice pieces in Harith's armory, but couldn't afford to buy them, and settled for some ammunition and spare parts. "I don't have a good workspace that I carry around, but if you check out Craterside Supply in Megaton, Moira, that's the owner, won't mind you using hers. Gotta warn ya though, she's a bit… strange." Harith remarked as they were tallying up the trade.

"Strange how?" Morgan asked, passing over a sheaf of police batons.

"Well now, that would spoil the surprise wouldn't it? If I were you, I'd wear a helmet going in, just in case."

"Err, thanks." Morgan muttered as he finished tallying up the total. "Okay, so we're offering you the Vault armor, the Raider scrap armor, a lot of police batons, the Jet, and… is that it?"

"Yep, by my count. I'll give ya the ammo, the parts, a few bottle of water and 350 caps in exchange. Throw in your immortal soul and I'll give ya that combat shotgun you were looking at." Lucky Harith replied, smirking a bit.

"Are you kidding? My soul's worth more'n that broken piece of crap AND the two-headed mutant you carry it on!" Morgan retorted.

"Morgan, you're soul's worth the two-headed mutant's radioactive milk-goop." Danny stated flatly, earning a glare from Morgan.

"Now, now, don't get to fightin', I'd hate to have to clean up the bits afterward. You two good with this deal?" Harith asked, pulling out the requested parts.

"Sure. Nice doing business with you, Mr. Harith." Danny said, offering his hand.

Harith took it. "No need to be so formal, out in the wastes the scavengers don't give a damn so neither should you. Just call me Harith."

"Not Lucky?" Morgan asked as he stowed the parts away.

"Nah, people only call me lucky when they're looking to shoot at me. Hope to see you two again in one piece, y'hear?"

"Crystal clear, Harith. Take care of yourself." Danny said, smiling.

"I intend to. Now get outta here before we get all sentimental."

Harith watched as the two strode up to the gates of Megaton. He raised an eyebrow when they gave the squatter outside the gate a bottle of purified water. "Does my heart good to see two bright-eyed Vaulties helping people in the wasteland." He smiled to himself, lighting a cigarette and pulling on it as the pair walked through the gates. He blew out smoke, looked thoughtfully at the squatter, and said:

"Eh, I give'em a week."


	17. Chapter 17: Welcome to Megaton

"Huh, looked smaller on the outside, didn't it?" Danny said, looking down into the crater.

It was large, and held shacks and houses made of rusted metal. Scaffolding and piping zig-zagged along the ground and throughout the houses, sometimes stacking the ramshackle huts on top of each other. It gave the overall impression that it would all fall over if someone so much as sneezed wrong.

"Wow, these people could sure use an architect…" Morgan said, looking up at the buildings nearby.

"Uh, Morgan, what the _hell_ is that?" Danny pointed to the center of town, wide-eyed.

Their eyes fell to the center of the crater. Stuck in a small pool of standing water, which they could see from here was glowing slightly, was a bomb. It was big, it was old, and it did not seem to be a bother to anyone else who walked by it. In fact, a group of people were bowing before it.

"Hoo boy…" Morgan muttered, staring at the less-than-peaceful landmark.

"What kind of person thinks it's a good idea to build a town around a bomb!?" exclaimed Danny.

"Sometimes I think my predecessors weren't too big in the brains department." sighed a voice from behind them.

They turned around to face the newcomer. He stood about six feet in a leather duster and matching hat, with a Chinese-made assault rifle strapped on his back. His dark brown face was covered in dust and a thick beard, but the look in his eyes, coupled with his voice, gave the twins the impression that he wouldn't care if there was a knife in his chest, so long as he'd got the man that'd done it.

"Name's Lucas Simms, town sheriff. Mayor too, when the need arises. Heard we had some interesting newcomers walking through our gates, Vaulties even, so I thought I'd see what the fuss was about." Lucas continued, his eyes never leaving the twins.

"Good to meet you sheriff. I'm Danny, and this is my brother Morgan. Lovely town you've got here." Danny said, holding out his hand.

Simms raised an eyebrow, took the offered hand and shook. "Friendly and well-mannered? Seems we'll get along just fine." He looked to Morgan. "What's the matter, kid? Raider got your tongue?"

Morgan snapped out of his reverie. "Oh, sorry. Just wondering why there seems to be a giant friggin' bomb in the center of your town?"

Danny elbowed him in the ribs as Simms sighed, then leaned against a rusted lamppost. "Damn thing's been here for years. Ever since the town started from what I've heard. I've tried to hire someone from time to time to disarm it once and for all, but I've yet to meet anyone who I trust to do it right."

"And people are okay with it ticking away right out there?" Danny asked, incredulous.

Simms shook his head. "They figure if it hasn't gone off yet it never will. Hell, a bunch of em' _worship_ the damn thing!" he said, gesturing irritably to the group of people bowing before the explosive. "But we're living on borrowed time. It might not go off on its own, but anyone who was crazy enough could set the thing to blow. And if there's one thing the Wastes are in good supply of, it's crazies."

Morgan stared down the crater for a while. Then he turned to Simms and said "I can disarm it for you."

Danny whipped around to face Morgan, surprised.

Simms also looked taken aback. "Are you serious? That's no simple piece of tech, son. One false move and they'd never find the bits of us."

Morgan nodded, face set. "I can do it. Not without looking first, of course, but I've taken apart enough tech to know how to make sure it won't go back together again. Or blow up in our faces."

Simms looked impressed. "Well, if you think you can do it, you have my blessing. I could pay you a hundred caps for the work."

Danny was shaking his head before he finished the sentence. "Wouldn't dream of it. We couldn't sleep at night knowing you could all die." Morgan nodded.

Simms gave them a disbelieving look. "Well, that's just outright decent of you boys. If there's anything you need help with, don't hesitate to ask."

"Actually, now that you mention it, have you seen a middle-aged man, dark hair, beard, might've been wearing a 101 jumpsuit?" Danny asked.

Simms scratched at his beard thinking. "Hmmmmm…. I think I did, matter of fact." The twins nearly keeled over with relief.

"Didn't have a memorable face, but that look in his eyes, you could tell he was a man with a purpose." Simms continued. "He headed up to Moriarty's Saloon, up on the hill there." He gestured to a building on the highest tier of scaffolding, on the other side of the crater. "But careful once you're up there. Moriarty's a mean, miserly son of a bitch. I'd have thrown him out of town if he didn't help bring in the traders. Take my advice and try not to get into any deals with the bastard."

"Duly noted." Danny said, nodding. "By the way, is there anywhere around here that we could find some work?"

Simms thought for a moment. "Well, Walter up at the water treatment plant has been looking for someone to help him with some repairs. I reckon you'll want to take a look at that Morgan, since you're obviously the gearhead."

"Damn right."

"Moira up at Craterside Supply is looking for someone to help her on a project of her own." Simms continued, pointing at a tall building off to the right side of the crater. "Don't rightly know what it is, but it sounds pretty big. If you go in there, though be sure to-"

"Wear a helmet. Yeah, Lucky Harith warned us." Danny said, smiling.

"I was gonna say, 'wear a suit of power armor', but you got the gist of it, it seems. Other than that, just ask around I guess. People are always looking for someone to help em' out for this or that. "

"Well, thanks for your help, Sheriff." Danny said, shaking Simms' hand.

"No problem boys. Just be careful when you work on that bomb, y'hear?" Simms tipped his hat to the pair and then ambled off.

The twins high-fived. "Looks like we're on the right road!" Morgan said, a big grin on his face.

"Yeah, but don't celebrate just yet, we've still gotta find him. Even then, how're we gonna get back into the Vault?" Danny asked, worry on his face.

"Ah, don't sweat it. We've been doing everything on the fly since this morning, so overall I'd say we've done pretty damn good for ourselves."

"Still, we're in the middle of a hostile environment, with limited supplies, and next to no knowledge of the territory." Danny pointed out.

Morgan leaned against a rusting wall, deep in thought. "Well, let's get educated then. We got two major tasks that need doing, yes? Disarming the bomb…"

"And talking to this… Moriarty guy. We also need to get supplies, food, ammo, better guns if possible."

"For that we need more caps. Maybe we shouldn't have turned down the sheriff's offer…"

Danny shook his head. "We did the right thing. But as he said though, there should be a good deal of people around that need things done. I mean, even if there are other towns, traveling must be near suicide without a large group, so people would be looking out for couriers and such."

Morgan smiled. "Okay then, how about you walk around and see if anyone here has any jobs that need doing and check out Moriarty's, and I'll head up to that Moira's shop and see if she's got a workbench I can use, along with any good supplies. I'll check out with that Walter guy, maybe get some caps there."

"Sounds good. Meet down in the square at dusk?"

"Yep. Let's move."


	18. Chapter 18: Meeting Moira

Fanfic1ch18

Morgan knocked on the rusted steel door of Craterside Supply.

After a moment a cheery voice called out "Come on in!"

Morgan stepped inside to find a store full of ammunition, armor, weapons of varying quality and style. There was a workbench, ammo workshop, and various other tools. There was scrap EVERYWHERE, implying that whoever this Moira was, she was a tech junkie and not much of an organizer.

In short, it was a little slice of heaven in the middle of hell.

"Hey there! Sorry about the smell, the fumes shouldn't be toxic!"

A welding mask with a crop of red hair in a ponytail popped up from behind a counter near the door.

"Oh, hey! You're one of those strays fresh outta the Vault!"

The masked figure struggled upright and flipped the mask up. Underneath was a woman that Morgan could only think of as… well, cute. Her face was oddly clean compared with the other wasters he had seen walking around. It had a bit of a cherubic quality. She had bright green eyes. She had _freckles_.

"You okay, dearie? Yao Guai got your tongue?"

Morgan snapped out of his reverie. "Huh-? What's a Yao Guai?"

"Big, ugly, mutated bear. Nasty temper, but I think they just need a hug!"

Morgan mentally added "crazy" to his list of descriptors for Moira.

"Uh, I wanted to know if you had any supplies?"

"Oh, sure! But one thing real quick, I wanted to ask you what life was like down there in the vault?"

Morgan thought for a moment, then replied;

"It was… safe. But that was all it was. You couldn't do much without permission, everything was planned for you from the beginning. Oh, and the guy in charge was a real _bastard_."

Moira had scribbled this down onto a rather dingy notepad. "Wow, this is really interesting! This'll be great for the book!"

Morgan cocked an eyebrow at that. "What book?"

"Oh, yeah! I'm making a book about how to survive in the wastes!" Moira said, disappearing under the counter. "For new people like you and for settlers who need to go out scavving every so often, it'd be a great resource!"

Morgan found himself nodding along to the red-haired woman's logic. "Sounds like a good idea. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Moira popped back up and lifted an old, heavy box onto the counter. "Well, if you want to stay around town for a bit, I need someone to get irradiated for me so I can figure out how it affects people. I could give you some Rad-Away and Rad-X for your trouble.

Morgan smiled and waved his hand dismissively. "No need! I studied radiation extensively in the vault, I can tell you all you need to know."

Moira looked impressed. "That's great! But, um, would you mind getting irradiated anyway? I'd like to get some first-hand experience…"

Morgan, slightly bemused at the redhead's reaction, thought for a moment. "Can you fix me up afterwards? I'd hate to help you out and then start glowing in the dark."

"Oh, don't worry! I could fix you back up again right afterward! And, as an advance payment, and thanks for the helpful description of Vault life you just gave me…."

Moira pulled the box lid open to reveal a pair of Vault 101 jumpsuits, but armored with leather padding and metal plates, with bandoleers and belt pouches, and holsters for various weapons. Morgan was struck dumb.

"These were for a pair of poor young things that left the vault some years ago, never came back for the suits, though. Since you're the new Vaulties in town, I figure you and your brother could use em' instead!"

Morgan took one of the suits in his hands. It was heavier than he was used to, but still lighter than the body armor he and Danny had worn during their escape.

"Go ahead and try it on!" said Moira, bouncing up and down with glee. She ushered Morgan into a side room and shoved the suit into his arms. "I'll be right outside!"

Morgan stared after her as she skipped, literally _skipped_, out of the room. He couldn't believe someone existed in this wasted world with as much, well, sheer _life_ as Moira. He found himself smiling as he pulled on the suit, glad despite himself for finding a kindred spirit.

He looked over to the mirror out in a corner. The suit looked good on him. It had enough straps and holsters for all the weapons he'd been carrying, and it looked like it even had a tool belt he could outfit.

When he walked back out into the store, Moira squealed with delight. "Oh, look at you! It's perfect!" She bounded over to him and gave him an appraising look. "Looking tough there, big fella! If I was a raider I'd think twice before attacking you!" Moria exclaimed, beaming.

"If a raider was attacking him, I doubt they'd even think once."

Morgan jumped at the sound of the new voice, turning around to see a man with black hair and leather armor leaning against the wall, a combat shotgun on his back, smoking a cigarette. He smirked at the reaction, and extended a hand. "Max. I guard the store."

Morgan, a little shocked, took the hand and shook it. "Uh, hey. Wow, I didn't even see you when I came in."

"Yeah, most don't, and it's no problem. You were too busy drooling over the merchandise anyway. Anyone ever tell you it's not polite to orgasm in public?" Max answered, grinning even wider.

Morgan, scowled, let out a breath, and then replied, "At least I don't have to pay to get mine." He grinned as well.

"Hey, enough you two! This is a store, not a locker room!" Moira chastised.

The two men coughed and mumbled something on the lines of "Sorry, Moira." Morgan recovered first, "Hey, I got a few other things to ask about if you don't mind."

"Shoot." Moira said, moving around the shop and rearranging various bits and pieces.

"First, do you sell food and medicine, that sort of thing?"

"Not so much, no. I'll buy it if I can get a good deal, but you're better off talking to Doc Church at the clinic for medicine and the Stahls at the Brass Lantern for food." She perked up a bit. "Actually, I know a place you could go scavenging for food and medicine!"

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah, sure! There's an old supermarket a few hours walk from here! I need someone to check it out anyway for the book, to see if such places are good places to find supplies! I'd even pay you with some extra food I got from a trade with one of the caravans!"

Morgan was dumbfounded. "Wow, that sounds perfect! Thanks, Moira!"

Max spoke up from the corner. "You ought to try to upgrade and repair your equipment if you're headed out there. Lot of critters and raiders about."

Morgan nodded and turned back to Moira. "Speaking of which, would you mind if I used you workbench for some of my own projects?"

"Since you're working for the aid of science, sure! You'll have to buy the raw materials though, or bring your own. What were you thinking of making?"

"Well, I got blueprints for a weapon that can shoot any object you find just lying around-"

"Oooh! A Rock-It Launcher! Neat! I actually sell all the parts for that you know!"

Morgan was surprised, once again. "Really? Wow! I gotta take you up on that at some point, but I got another project here…"

With a little difficulty, Morgan pulled out the broken Eyebot chassis from his duffel. "I found this little guy over in Springvale, after he was shot down by a raider."

"Wow! You're really lucky! Normally they explode when they're destroyed!"Moria exclaimed happily.

"Oh, really?" Morgan said weakly, remembering how close he had been to the bot when it was shot.

"Oh yeah! But that bot looks in a pretty bad way, looks like the bullet tore up a lot of its insides, poor thing."

"You've never seen me work." Morgan said, smiling. "I've always wanted a robot and I'll be damned if I'll let some critical system damage get in my way!"

"Nice enthusiasm! I'll be glad to help you get the parts you need!" Moira said, clapping her hands happily.

"Thanks again. One more thing, do you know where I can find a guy called Walter?"

"Oh, him! He's right up the catwalk, turn right as you go outside, only building up there." She leaned in conspiratorially, "Between you and me, he may act all grumpy and gruff, but he's just a big old softie on the inside!"

Morgan nodded solemnly, trying to keep a straight face. "I see. Thanks for the info." He folded up the second jumpsuit and placed it in his bag with the eyebot. "You can keep the other armor. Thanks for all your help, Miss Brown."

She laughed. "Oh, so polite! Just call me Moira! And feel free to drop by anytime, kiddo!"

Morgan smiled, then turned to Max. "By the way, there was someone outside looking for you. Girlfriend of yours?"

Max looked puzzled. "What did they look like?"

"Well, she looked like someone you'd go out with, definitely. She was short, tough looking, had shaggy black hair, the cutest little nose, great legs too! All four of em!"

Morgan quickly stepped outside as realization dawned on the merc's face.

As he listened to the obscene litany behind him as walked away, smiling happily, he wondered if Danny was having any luck with the townspeople.


	19. Chapter 19: Meeting the Locals

Fanfic1ch19

Danny had been exploring around town, down near the crater in particular. He had talked with the incredibly gruff Doc Church in the town clinic, who had even raised an eyebrow when Danny demonstrated his medical knowledge. He had talked to Confessor Cromwell, the admittedly unstable leader of the worshippers at the bomb. Danny had noticed throughout the conversation that Cromwell had been looking a bit sickly, and Danny guessed it had to do with standing in irradiated water for hours on end.

He had just sat down at the Brass Lantern, the local restaurant, and was having a pleasant conversation with one of the owners, Jenny Stahl, when a voice that sounded like impatient gravel growled,

"Hey there, Jenny."

Danny turned to see a middle-aged man sitting down at one of the barstools. He was dressed in metal armor, and carried an odd-looking assault rifle on his back. He had a dirty face, a dirtier beard, and the look he gave Danny wasn't particularly clean either.

"What'cha lookin' at, Vaultie?"

Danny figured that anything he would say would set the man off, so he just turned back to his menu.

"I thought so." Jericho turned back to Jenny. "Hey, sweetie. What's on the menu today?"

Jenny's looked like she had just eaten something sour. "Jericho, you're disgusting. Are you going to order something or not?"

Jericho's eyes narrowed. "Dammit, Jenny. Why do you have to embarrass me like that, out here in front of all these people?"

Danny continued to look at the menu, though he was hooked in by the conversation.

Jenny stared him in the eyes. "Don't play stupid with me, Jericho. You know what my problem is."

Jericho gave her a pleading look. "Look, Jenny, that was years ago. I'm a different man now."

Jenny was shaking her head halfway through the sentence. "No, Jericho. Just… no. Now leave me alone." She turned her back on him.

At that, Jericho's face turned into a furious scowl and he started reaching over the bar at Jenny. "Don't you dare brush me off, you-"

Danny caught his wrist halfway out. "I don't think she wants to talk with you, fellah."

Danny and Jericho's eyes locked. Danny was immediately surprised by how incredibly angry this man was. He hadn't seen anything like this other than when the Overseer was aiming a gun at him.

By now, Jenny had whirled around, eyes wide on Danny. And she wasn't the only one. A lot of the townsfolk were looking at the Vaultie and the tough guy locked in their staredown.

Jericho spoke from between clenched teeth, looking like it was paining him not to tear Danny to pieces in front of the spectators. "I've killed dumbass kids like you for doing a lot less than that, Vaultie."

Danny stared right back. "I've taken down tougher than you for worse reasons than raising their hand to a lady."

Everyone seemed surprised to hear that. Even Jenny looked taken aback. _Didn't anyone help anyone else out here?_ Danny thought worriedly.

Jericho snarled and ripped his hand away from Danny. "You fuckin' Vaulties. You just stroll out of your little underground paradise and think you can just order everyone around, like you own the whole goddamn world, is that it?" Jericho was on his feet now, eyes boring into Danny as he leaned against the bar.

"Do I have to order you around to keep you from grabbing people by the neck?" Danny answered, also standing. He was beginning to really hate this guy.

Jericho snorted, but eyed the crowd that was watching. "I wasn't doing nothing, you pampered asshole!"

"Sure you weren't." Danny said, narrowing his eyes.

Jericho growled, but could notice that the crowd was starting to turn against him.

He scowled at Danny, then turned on his heel and stomped off. "Fucking Vault asshole."

Danny waited until he had strode out of sight, up to a rusted house on the walkway. Then he sat down heavily on the chair, letting out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

He turned to look at Jenny. "Are you all ri-"

He noticed she was staring at him, mouth open, like he'd just sprouted a second head that was singing Sinatra.

"Um, what?"

"You just stared down Jericho!"

"So?"

"Kid, he's the meanest bastard here in town other than Moriarty, hell he used to be a goddamn _raider_, and you stared him down like he was some-"

Danny's eyes went wide. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! A _raider!?_"

"Former. He protects the town now. Him, the sheriff, Stockholm and Deputy Weld are our little militia, though most of us can defend ourselves if needed," Jenny growled. "But he still acts like an asshole, picks fights, and generally makes people's lives a bit more miserable around here."

Danny sighed. He had just pissed off one of the town's best shots, an ex-raider no less, who was apparently not a person who liked "dumbass vaulties" in the first place.

Brilliant start.

A plate slid into his vision, along with a bottle of Nuka-Cola. He looked up to see Jenny gesture to the plate. "Eat up. It's Brahmin steak, with pork n' beans. On the house."

"Oh no, I'll pay you for-" Danny started before being cut off.

"Not a chance. You helped me, someone you met all of ten minutes ago, for no other reason than that I'm a 'lady'?"

Danny started to blush. Jenny tried to stifle a laugh. "Heh, you're definitely not a wastelander, kid. Most would've just passed on by, but you stepped up. Thanks."

She went back into the Lantern, leaving Danny to finish his thoughts and food.

'_Most would've just passed on by…'_ Danny mused. '_What kinda place is this?'_

He finished quickly and started up toward the saloon on the hill. He looked out over the town as he did so, noting how everything seemed to be teetering, on the verge of collapse. In more ways than one.

He also saw Morgan walking around town with a toolbox, stopping every so often next to a leaking pipe. He appeared to whistling happily.

'_Least one of us is having a good day.'_ Danny thought.

As he approached the saloon he was assaulted by the smell of all horrible rest-stop pubs everywhere, bringing tears to his eyes and dread to his liver. The building, like the rest of the town, was constructed out of rusted metal and old wood, and the bar was an old, pitted thing, which Danny doubted had been cleaned since it was nailed in place.

"C'mon you piece of shit, work!"

Danny looked in the direction of the raspy voice and struggled to keep himself from recoiling in horror. A zombie, an honest-to-God zombie in an old t-shirt and jeans was banging on a static-spewing radio at one end of the bar.

"Gob, it's not the radio, it's Galaxy News. Their signal's been shit lately. Give it a rest!" This advice came from a red-haired woman in what could be decently described as "skimpy" clothing leaning against the bar. She did not seem the least bit concerned with the dead man walking behind the counter, Danny noticed.

"Damn it! Why. Won't. You. WORK!?" the zombie now known as "Gob" grunted as he pounded on the radio.

He stopped, annoyance still on what was left of his face when he noticed Danny staring. "Oh, sorry smoothskin. What can I get you?"

Noticing that his brain was out of commission, Danny's mouth took over. "Let me think on it a moment, my good man."

At this, both the red-head and the bartender's eyes widened in surprise. "You mean you're not gonna hit me? Even berate me a little bit?" The bartender questioned.

Now it was Danny's turn to be surprised. "Um… no? Why would I want to hit you?"

The red-haired woman gave him an incredulous look. "What, are you straight out of a Vault or something?"

Danny sighed. "It's the suit, isn't it? Everyone notices the damn suit."

"Oh. Well, I'm Nova, and this is Gob."

Danny raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. "Good to meet you two."

Gob cocked his head. "Gotta say, it's nice to meet a smoothskin that doesn't treat me like a piece of crap."

"Why do people treat you like that? I mean sure, you look different-"

Nova snorted. "Dead is more like it, hon. Gob's a ghoul, a human that got a hell of a lot of radiation and mutated into… well, this."

"Our bodies decay a great deal, as you can see." Gob went on. "Our brains slowly decay over time as well, and many of us go… feral, and become like the movie-style zombies everyone thinks we are. The only real perk is that we live a long time."

"How long do you mean?"

"Well kid, let's just say that I was here when there wasn't a bomb-crater to build this town around."

Danny was astounded. "You lived _before the War?_"

"Yep. More'n 200 years makes it a bit difficult to remember much though."

Danny sat down on a barstool. "And people still treat you like this when you're old enough to be their great-great-great-grandfather?"

Gob and Nova sighed. "It's just the way it is, kid."

Danny stood up fast. "Fuck that. You may not look like me, but you're still human, and you are worthy of respect!" He nearly shouted, startling some of the people around the bar.

Gob and Nova looked at each other. Then Gob smiled. "Tell you what kid, Moriarty would kick my ass if he caught me selling at a discount, but for you, I'll risk it."

Danny sat back down. "Not necessary Gob, I didn't even do much other than say hello!" Danny replied.

"Oh, you did. But even if you just said hello, that still puts you a few up over the other assholes in this bar." He said this part with emphasis, causing some of the nearby patrons to turn away. "Even the nicer ones won't look me in the eye and just shuffle off when they get their drink." Gob explained, scowling.

Danny, once again, was taken aback at how callous people were out here. Then something Gob said from earlier caught on. "Wait, you said Moriarty would kick your ass?"

"Er, yeah… y'see-"

"GOB! What th'hell did I tell ya about talking to the customers!?"

The voice was irate and self-important, with a touch of Irish lilt. It was the voice of someone who was used to being obeyed.

It reminded Danny of the Overseer, and his fists clenched.

The man that emerged from the back room had shaggy hair, dirty clothes, a dirtier beard, and an evil glint in his eyes; like he would take you for everything you had and dump you outside without one shred of regret. Hell, he'd probably kick the hell out of you if you couldn't hit back.

"Colin Moriarty, at your service!" the man said, oozing charm from every pore. "I'm sorry for my bartender's behavior," Colin said, glaring at the cowering Gob. "But I'm sure we can do business."

Danny saw the same look on Moriarty's face as Officer Mack's when he was about to beat Amata. "No, not at all! Your employee has a lot of great stories. I learned a great deal while talking to him!"

Colin's glare lessened. "That so? Well, regardless, how can I help you?"

"I'm looking for my dad. Middle-aged, graying hair, maybe wearing a Vault suit?"

Moriarty's eyes lit up. "My god, it's you! One of the little wee boys from the Vault!"

Danny let out an exasperated sigh. "Yes, me and my brother are from the Vault. Born and raised."

"Like hell you are!" Colin replied. Danny leaned back on his stool, startled. "I saw you two when you were just wee babes, when your Dad passed through on his way to get into that hole in the ground !"

Danny reeled. "What? My dad came here before?"

"Yeah! Him and that one armored lass, preaching little bitch she was. "

Dad hadn't even mentioned the town with a great big bloody nuke in the center. Danny forced himself to calm down. "Look, I have a thousand questions right now, but the most important is: Do you know where he went?"

Colin smiled a snake's smile. "Listen kid, you seem like a decent sort, so here's the way it is."

"Your dad was here, and now he's not. I know where he was off to. But information is a commodity."

Danny gritted his teeth. "Damn it, Moriarty! My dad could be hurt, dead, or even being used as a knife-holder for some raiders for all I know! And you're extorting me?!"

Moriarty's smile remained, and even grew wider. "Indeed I am! Way of the wastes, kiddo, and the sooner you learn that the better off you'll be."

Danny stopped himself from slugging the smug devil and hissed, "How much?"

"One hundred caps. And that's cheap, compared to what I could be offering you."

"I'll bet. And if I don't have enough money?"

"Well then, there's a little job I need done that can get you the caps you need. See, before Nova came on, I had a lass by the name of Silver who got me a good deal on chems."

Danny motioned for him to continue, all the while thinking, '_First Gob and Nova, then extortion, now chems? Does this guy burn down churches in his spare time?'_

"One day she ran off, along with a good bit of my caps. Apparently she's holed up in Springvale somewhere. I want you to hunt her down."

Danny was appalled. "You want me to _kill_ her?"

"Christ, boy, you are bloody new to the damn wastes aren't you? Yes, I want you to kill the bitch. You can keep the caps she stole. Well, keep em' to pay me with anyway!"

Danny was incensed. He was ready to jump the bar and _break_ this jackal-hearted bastard.

But it wouldn't help. At most he would get his dad's location, and after he left Moriarty would take it out on Gob and Nova, just like the Overseer took his emotions out on the whole damn Vault when Dad escaped.

"Forget it Moriarty. I'll be back with the caps."

"Looking forward to it, kiddo." He glared back at Gob, who once again cowered. "Get those damn glasses clean you fucking zombie!" He turned to Nova and said "And why don't you shake that ass and make some caps already, girl?"

Moriarty smiled evilly as he swaggered toward the back room.

Danny watched him go, then slumped down onto the bar.

After a moment Gob slid a glass across to him. He had one out for himself and Nova too.

Danny gave him a questioning look.

"Thanks for saving my hide a beating." Gob said, smiling sadly.

"Here's hoping that bastard drops dead, sooner rather than later." Nova growled, draining her glass.

Danny gave a weak smile. "Cheers."

As the liquid burned down his throat, Danny… pondered.


	20. Chapter 20: Work Around Town

Fanfic1ch20

Morgan wandered around town, whistling happily. He was surprised at this. He figured he ought to be growling, weary, broken down and all that other fun baggage that comes after getting kicked out of your childhood home. Instead he felt… free. Liberated from that anal-retentive scumbag in charge and free to _live_.

Even now, just wandering around town fixing some broken pipes for the town's resident mechanic, Walter, he felt different than helping Stanley with maintenance in the Vault. It was for a living, and helping a community survive, as opposed to just keeping a machine-like existence working.

As he mused on this, he spotted another pipe leaking near the town gat, on a path leading down into the crater. As he pulled out his tools and prepared to weld some scrap iron on the broken joint, something flew past his face and knocked the metal out of his hand.

"Oh, damn! Sorry about that, man!"

Morgan looked up to see a tall, well-built man standing over him. He was wearing a slightly dirty bandanna, and had a patch over one eye, and blonde hair with a scruffy but well-kept beard.

"Sorry, the little sucker got away from me." The man said, offering a hand. "M' name's Billy, Billy Creel."

Morgan took the hand and pulled himself up. "Ah, it's okay, I'm just glad that happened before I started welding. I'm Morgan, by the way."

Billy smiled. "Oh, yeah! You and your brother are the talk of the town, kid. Harith said you guys took on some raiders too, not bad for some fresh Vaulties."

Morgan was a bit surprised at that. "Man, how quickly does word get around here? We only arrived a few hours ago."

Billy laughed at that. "Ah, don't worry about it, kid. I just happen to know Harith from my caravan days is all, and I like people." He smiled that happy smile of his again. "So I kinda tend to talk a bit as well. By the way, did ya see where that ball went?"

"Ball?" Morgan looked a bit further down and saw a baseball wedged between two pipes. He retrieved it and tossed it to Billy.

"Much obliged, kid. Sorry about that, but when me and Maggie play catch it tends to go everywhere."

Moran raised an eyebrow. "Maggie?"

Just as Billy opened his mouth to reply, a little girl skipped down to the pair. She had Asian features and short black hair, and promptly tackled Billy's legs. "Didja find the ball, Billy? Oh…" She caught sight of Morgan and hid behind the older man's legs.

Billy laughed. "It's okay, pumpkin, this is Morgan, he's one of those Vaulties that came over today."

Instantly, Maggie was tackling Morgan's legs. "Oooo! Is he a robot? Can he shoot lasers out of his eyes? Does he know any molerat-men?"

Billy hooted with laughter at both Maggie and Morgan's bemused expression. "Sorry, pumpkin, but I think he's human like the rest of us." He replied, beaming at the little girl causing Morgan to lose circulation to his feet.

"Awwww… that's no fun!" Maggie pouted, crossing her arms in a huff.

Morgan smiled at the goofy kid. She reminded him of how obnoxious _he_ was at that age. "Yeah, sorry kid, I can't shoot lasers from my eyes. However…"

Morgan knelt down and pulled his duffel bag from his shoulder, with Maggie looking at it excitedly and Billy cocking his head in response.

"I did find _this_ when me and my brother were wandering around out there." Morgan pulled out the Eyebot that he had scooped up in Springvale. Maggie squealed so loud Morgan was surprised the pipe next to him didn't crack.

"Wow! That's so cool! Can it fly? Can _it_ shoot lasers? What's the hole in it for?" She gibbered away while Billy was barely containing a laugh.

Morgan chuckled as well. "It's broken right now, but I'm going to repair it with help from Moira. Then it'll be able to fly _and_ shoot lasers."

"Moira? She's fun! She makes all kinds of cool stuff! She's kinda looney, though." Billy rolled his eyes as Morgan nodded.

"Yeah, and Jericho said she's only good for plowin', cept' she doesn't do any farming so I don't get what he means by that." Morgan carefully hid his expression as Billy turned red in the face.

Maggie rapped on the metal shell. "What're you gonna name it? S'gotta have a name, right?"

Billy grabbed Maggie and lifted her onto his shoulders. "Ah, we better leave him alone for now, sweetheart, he's busy helpin' to fix up the town."

"Okay! Bye Morgan! You gotta show me the robot when you're done!" Maggie called out.

"I will, I promise!" Morgan called back as he turned to the pipe. As he started welding the rusty metal into something that didn't resemble Swiss cheese, he smiled at the idea of little Maggie chasing around his floating robot, asking it to shoot lasers. He quickly finished, grinning as he walked back up the rickety catwalks to the Water Purification Plant.

He found Walter on the balcony outside the plant, smoking a cigarette. The old man looked dead on his feet, and since he'd apparently been up for the last three days trying to figure out where the leaks were, Morgan was surprised he wasn't.

"Hey, Walter." Morgan greeted, causing the white-haired mechanic's eyes to flicker open. "Got those leaks sealed."

"Huh, really? Lemme make sure." Walter stumbled back into the plant, dragging his feet with each step. As Morgan closed the door behind them, he heard Walter make a tired grunt of satisfaction.

"Well, I'll be. The pressure's up all right, no leaks. Well done, kid." He fished a small bag out of his jumpsuit. "There's some caps for you. If you're still looking for work, I'll pay you for any scrap you bring me, since this thing is gonna bust again sooner or later."

Morgan pocketed the money and nodded. "I'll keep an eye out. Now go get some sleep old man, you look like a walking advertisement for zombie repellent."

Walter gave him a grumpy grimace. "Eh, I'll rest when I'm dead. Have a nice day." He said these last words in a sarcastic sing-song, then trundled off to the back room. Before Morgan was out the door, he heard the old man snoring like a saw on metal.

Morgan walked through town, stopping at the bomb to listen to the Confessor's rants about Atom, their savior and get a better look at the megaton mishap waiting to happen. After inspecting the bomb as best he could, Morgan continued his walk, thinking on the problem of how he could disarm the bomb if the crazy dude would start getting all "DEFILER!" in his face?

He had started up the catwalk when he accidentally bumped into an old man walking along.

"Oh, sorry, sir."

"Oh it's quite alright young man! It's another glorious day in the United States of America!"

Morgan stopped to look at the elderly person he had just bumped into, dressed in a wasteland outfit but with an old bombers jacket with a crudely made American Flag patch adorning it.

"I'm Nathan, youngster! What's your name?"

"Uh, Morgan, me and my brother Danny are new here…"

"Oh, right, the Vault Dwellers! I hope you've heard of the Enclave down there young man!"

Morgan gave him a puzzled look. "Enclave?"

"The remnant of our world's government, my boy! The last great hope of the American race! They've been broadcasting for years now, with that John Henry Eden as President, and he's going to come in here and end our problems forever!"

Morgan scratched his head. "Um… I hate to point this out, Mr. Nathan, but aren't they the ones who went around bombing the world in the first place?"

Nathan looked shocked, and his face began to redden as Morgan realized this hadn't been the right thing to say.

"Why- why that's blasphemy! Treason! It's every citizens _duty_ to follow the leader of their country!"

Morgan gave him a flat look. "You do realize that they made the Bill of Rights and Constitution with the sole idea in mind of "if we fuck up, feel free to rebel" right?"

Nathan looked thoughtful for a moment. "Huh… I never thought of it…" But then he shook his head as if to clear thoughts from it and said, "No! You won't trick me! You'll see when the Enclave comes, my patience will be rewarded!" He then shouldered his way past Danny and continued down toward the crater.

Morgan shrugged as he approached the saloon. Crazy people out here. But it was definitely better than the Vault, still. A least he was free to argue with patriots like Nathan.

Still there were more important things to worry about. For example, the bomb was still an issue, with all those worshippers milling about and being rather fanatical. But Danny could probably keep him covered. He was good at defusing tense situations.

He thought those words over a second later when someone came crashing out the pub's window.


End file.
